Oklahoma Sooners talented point guard Aaliyah Chavez is earning more recognition. Chavez has been named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Watch List, the organization announced on Thursday. Chavez, a preseason All-SEC second-team selection, is just one of seven underclassmen named to the Naismith Trophy watchlist of 50 of the nation’s top players.
This comes after Chavez put together an outstanding freshman season. She was named ESPN and CBS Sports National Freshman of the Year after averaging 18.4 points, 4.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game last season. Her numbers led all true freshmen nationally in scoring and ranked seventh in the SEC in points and ninth in assists. Her 625 total points are the second-most
scored by an OU freshman.
One of one 🫡
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) October 29, 2026
Aaliyah Chavez has been named to the watch list for the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year! pic.twitter.com/nfqmQwhuUN
She also set OU and NCAA freshman records with a 92.9% free-throw percentage, tying Oklahoma's all-time program record, and established an OU and SEC record with 62 consecutive made free throws.
On Sunday, Chavez helped lead Oklahoma to a 124-39 blowout win over Southern Nazarene in an exhibition game at Lloyd Noble Center. She turned in 14 points and nine assists while posting a game-high plus-minus of +51. It was the Sooners' largest exhibition win under head coach Jennie Baranczyk.
Oklahoma is ranked No. 21 to start the season. The Sooners will make a program-record 18 national television appearances during the regular season, with games airing across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and FOX. The Sooners open the regular season overseas in Paris against No. 12 North Carolina on Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Aaliyah Chavez named to Naismith Trophy Player of the Year watch list
