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Jennie Baranczyk says Aaliyah Chavez is unfazed by SEC snub

headshotby: George Stoia03/04/26GeorgeStoia

Jennie Baranczyk is not worried about her star point guard being snubbed by fellow SEC coaches.

The OU women’s basketball coach spoke with the media on Tuesday after the SEC announced its season honors, which included freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez surprisingly not winning Freshman of the Year. Many believed Chavez was a shoo-in to win the award, as she tied the league record for Freshman of the Week honors with eight this season.

Instead, Vanderbilt’s Aubrey Galvan won the award, which surprised many, including Baranczyk.

“You get a little bit surprised by Aaliyah maybe not being SEC Freshman of the Year, but obviously Vanderbilt’s had a great season too,” Baranczyk said. “Any time you’re SEC Freshman of the Week (eight times) and to be able to have the year that she’s had, I think it’s pretty incredible for a freshman. And also to be mentioned as an all-conference player – when you’re an all-conference player on that list of players, it’s pretty impressive, especially in the league this year. To be listed as one of the best players is pretty impressive.”

Chavez was named to the All-SEC second team, becoming the only freshman to earn that honor. She led the SEC’s freshmen in points per game by 5.5 points, and ranked second in assists per game and third in steals per game.

Many OU fans took to social media on Tuesday to express their shock and displeasure with the snub. Even OU athletics director Roger Denny posted about it.

But for Chavez, she isn’t focused on individual awards. And neither are the Sooners, even if it is disappointing.

“Honestly, we didn’t make it a big deal,” Baranczyk said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, come in and sit down and let’s talk about your feelings.’ I think she was business as usual today. Aaliyah is a winner. Every single thing that she’s ever done, she’s won. She’s won in high school, she’s won in AAU. So this might be something that stings, but she’s a winner, and that’s what I’m going to count on, that’s what her team is going to count on, and that’s really what her focus has always been. It’s about winning. It’s not about her, and that’s what makes her so unique and so special.

“I’m sure it doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel good – I don’t think it feels good either. But life happens. There are a lot of things that we don’t get to decide. And so we get to see how we respond. It’s not a personal thing, her versus somebody else. It’s about her team versus the next team. And she’s very, very mature to keep that in perspective.”

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