Oklahoma
Vote: Who is the best high school girls’ basketball player in the state of Oklahoma?
As we approach the halfway point in the girls’ high school basketball season, we’ve decided to post 20 of the top high school girls basketball players in the state of Oklahoma and let the fans decide who their top player is.
The Sooner State is loaded up with some of the top talent in the country. This list is packed with Division I talent, four- and five-star recruits, and others having fantastic seasons for their respective programs. Many fantastic players didn’t make the list. See if your favorite player did, read about each one and cast your vote.
You may vote as many times as you’d like between now and when the poll closes on Jan. 31, at 11:59:59 p.m. E.T.
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Nation’s No. 1 girls high school basketball recruit Aaliyah Chavez scores 124 points in Caprock Texas Classic
Top Missouri girls high school basketball program extends five-year winning streak
The standout junior scored 15 points in an 81-48 victory over Meade County (KY) on Dec. 20 and has helped the Trojans to a 7-1 start in 2024. As a sophomore, she played a key role in helping Douglass reach its first state tournament since 1992. She is currently weighing offers from Oklahoma State and Nebraska-Omaha, respectively.
The sophomore guard averaged 18 points per game as a freshman at Idabel – leading the Warriors to the Class 3A championship – before transferring to Broken Bow. So far, the Lady Savages are 1-1 so far in 2024, coming off a 70-37 win at Heavener on Dec. 19. She has an offer from Abilene Christian.
Donley scored a game-high 24 points and added 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks in a 52-33 win over Harding Charter Prep on Dec. 20. The reigning Class 4A state finals MVP, Donley helped lead Bethany to back-to-back state titles and a 4-2 mark in 2024.
A 5-foot-9 guard who averaged 19 points per game last season at Classen SAS, Durley moved to Edmond North where she has helped the Huskies to a 4-4 mark so far. Durley holds offers from Marquette, Oral Roberts, Nevada and others.
Scored 28 points to surpass 1,000 career points during a loss to Norman on Dec. 20. As a junior she averaged 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two points per game.
A 6-foot wing, Herrod is a 4-star recruit by ESPN. She’s ranked No. 59 overall in the nation on the ESPN Hoopgurlz 100 and ranked No. 42 overall in the nation by 247 Sports. She averaged 13 points, five rebounds and two steals per game at Millwood last season before transferring to Putnam North.
The 6-1 all-state guard and 4-star recruit entered this season ranked No. 49 on the ESPNw Top 100. She surpassed 1,000 career points last season while averaging 16 points, five rebounds and two steals. The Huskies are 4-4 this seasons.
After averaging 20 points per game in 2023-24, Johnson entered the 2024-25 season rated the sixth-best recruit in Oklahoma and 41st overall in the nation on the ESPNW HoopGurlz 100. She earned the 38th overall ranking in the nation by 247Sports and earned a 4-star rating by ESPN.
Originally committed to Nebraska before reopening her recruitment and committing to Michigan, in six games this season, Mathurin – 5-10 shooting guard – is averaging 21.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks. She is an ESPN 4-star recruit.
One of the most talented underclassmen in the state, Minor is rated a 4-star recruit by ESPN. The 6-foot guard averaged 14 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals as a freshman. She is reportedly receiving interest from many Division I programs.
The 5-11 forward won a Class 2A state championship in softball at Dale and added back-to-back trips to the Class 2A finals in basketball. She helped the Pirates go 30-2 last season on the court. They are currently ranked No. 1 in Oklahoma Class 2A and are currently 11-1 this season.
A multi-sport athlete, Parker – the 2023-24 Gatorade National High School Softball Player of the Year – averaged 29.3 points per game on the court while leading Pocola to the 2A state tournament last season. She’s helped her team to a 4-0 start so far.
An ESPN 5-star recruit and one of the tops in the country, Parks committed with the Jayhawks after scoring 26.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.6 steals and 2.9 assists as a junior – helping lead Norman to the Class 6A championship along the way.
An ESPN 4-star recruit, Richardson garnered a lot of college buzz before committing to SMU. She averaged 24 points as a freshman.
One of the top uncommitted underclassmen in the state, Stewart is believed to be holding offers from Missouri, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas A&M, Wake Forest and Nebraska after helping lead Lincoln Christian to back-to-back Class 4A state championships.
A Bethel transfer, Megehee averaged 24.9 points per game last season.
One of the top 2025 recruits in the state, Williams averaged 16.2 points last year for the state power. She is an ESPN 4-star recruit.
A Class 3A all-state selection, Gaddy averaged 20.9 points as a junior for Alva – where she also excels in cross country and track and field. Gaddy scored 25 points in a 45-39 victory over Owasso at the Mustang Holiday Classic on Dec. 27.
Committed to Oklahoma at the start of her sophomore season on Sept. 4, 2022, after considering offers from Kentucky, Ohio State, Florida State and Michigan. Holds a 5-star composite rating by 247Sports. She averaged 18 points as a sophomore and led Bethany to the Class 4A state championship. The 6-1 guard has the Bronchos off to a 4-2 start in 2024-25.
Alston reportedly has six Division I offers. A guard/forward combo, Alston averaged 12.4 points as a sophomore and has helped lead Mustang to a 7-3 mark to open this season.
Also considered: Mercades Lopez, sr., Idabel; Shelby Thornton, sr., Del City; Talia Vann, sr., Grind Prep; Skylar Anderson, jr., Dale; Saniyah Morrison, sr., Tulsa Rogers.
Kamden Mantooth caps wild week by leading Mustang to 6A baseball title
It was a wild week for Kamden Mantooth, who helped Mustang beat Edmond Santa Fe 5-4 for the 6A baseball title. After being forced to sit in the semifinals due to an ejection in the quarterfinals, he pitched 5 2/3 innings Saturday.
Joe Patterson was hoping it would be different this time.
The Mustang baseball coach is no stranger to state championship games.
But as Mustang headed into its Class 6A title matchup against Edmond Santa Fe in May, a state championship victory remained a goal that hadn’t been fulfilled for Patterson as a player or head coach.
“That was all together — playing and coaching — my (sixth) state championship game, and I was 0-5,” Patterson said.
Patterson can now revise that record to 1-5 as the Broncos beat defending champion Edmond Santa Fe 5-4 at ONEOK Field in Tulsa.
An unforgettable day for Patterson.
An unforgettable season.
After leading Mustang to its third title and a 39-6 record while playing a brutally difficult schedule, Patterson is The Oklahoman’s 2026 All-State Coach of the Year.
“It was one of those years where it felt like I wasn’t working the whole year,” Patterson said. “Just a special group and everybody involved did such an amazing job and the players got along and the senior leadership was just unbelievable.”
A year after going 19-16 and falling at regionals, this season was vastly different for Patterson as Mustang dominated from beginning to end.
The Broncos won 11 of their first 12 games and ended the season the exact same way, claiming victories in 11 of their last 12 matchups.
They thrived in tight games, going 12-3 in matchups decided by two or fewer runs.
“We lost a bunch of close games last year,” Patterson said. “We didn’t have as great a season as we wanted, so we talked about trying to change the team morale and change the culture just a little bit in the fall, and we really focused on that. Just trying to make the place a more positive place for the kids and emphasize them having a little bit more fun but still working.”
Born and raised in Duncan, Patterson’s love of baseball and sports in general go back to those days.
His dad, Bill, was Duncan’s head football coach from 1997-2003 before accepting an assistant position at Owasso and serving as the Rams’ head coach from 2007-2016.
A standout in football and baseball in high school, Joe Patterson was at Duncan as a freshman and sophomore before spending his final two years at Owasso and then playing college baseball from 2007-2010. He went to Oral Roberts for one year, Seminole State for a season and Texas A&M for his final two.
Patterson was named the national junior college player of the year at Seminole State and had a successful stint at Texas A&M, hitting .362 with 21 homers and 100 RBIs with the Aggies.
He’s been at Mustang since the summer of 2019 after coaching at Westmoore.
Former OU shortstop Brandon Zaragoza played for Patterson during his senior year at Westmoore and was a Mustang assistant for the last four seasons before recently being named Westmoore’s new head coach.
Patterson has had a huge impact on Zaragoza, who will take what he’s learned from his former coach into his new gig.
“He just brought pure joy to the game for me, especially with just his ability to, one, obviously coach the game, but two, to allow his players to go out there and perform,” Zaragoza said. “The coolest thing about Pat was his ability to just pick up on player knowledge. Just kind of knowing what he has in terms of personnel and then of course his ability to just game plan, strategize, just get his guys ready to play.”
Patterson always wanted to coach at a one-high school town like Mustang.
He has his wish now, and Zaragoza says it’s a well-oiled machine.
“That’s kind of how I describe it a lot to people,” Zaragoza said. “Just a well-oiled machine in terms of just the coaches that are over there and the attention to detail and the preparation. There’s no loose ends at Mustang. And given how big the school is, you can always get kind of lost in personnel or all that stuff, but just the way that Mustang operates, it’s top tier.”
Mustang didn’t necessarily have big names this season like some teams in the state, but the Broncos had several guys who shined.
Outfielder and Northern Oklahoma College-Enid signee Nate Sutton hit .449 with 15 homers and 70 RBIs.
Fellow senior Kamden Mantooth was second on the team with a .442 batting average. A shortstop, Mantooth started at pitcher in the title game and held Edmond Santa Fe to eight hits and four runs — three earned — over 5 2/3 innings.
“It means everything for us,” Mantooth said after the championship win. “We’ve been working for this since we were in seventh grade. We’ve been working for this, and we finally achieved our goal that we wanted.”
For Patterson, it’ll forever be a special moment as he had his 6-year-old son with him in the dugout and his dad watching from the stands.
Patterson had lost two title games as a player at Owasso and three as a head coach — two at Westmoore and one at Mustang.
The outcome was different this time, and it was well worth the wait.
“It was just a feeling of relief and happiness,” Patterson said.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Crews responded to a fireworks stand after it caught fire in Broken Arrow Saturday night.
Authorities urged people to avoid E. Kanosha Street near S. 236th E. Avenue as the road is closed and fireworks could spread in the area due to the fire.
Broken Arrow Fire Department released a statement confirming no injuries were sustained as a result of the explosions or fire.
Fire crews quickly controlled the fire in about 20 minutes according to Broken Arrow Fire Department.
The initial cause of the fire is under investigation.
Viewer Leslie Maxey, who lives close to the fireworks stand, sent in video of the ongoing fire.
“We were putting our daughter to bed with a book when we heard an explosion that was gradually getting louder and louder,” Maxey said.
This is a developing story.
What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series
North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.
Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.
The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:
Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance
LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.
Strengths
Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.
Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.
The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.
Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.
Weaknesses
The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.
The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.
They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.
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