Former Surprise Valley Vista standout Taylor Chavez, who played for Kelly Graves the last two years at Oregon, announced today on Twitter that she is transferring to Arizona.
Chavez averaged 4.1 points, 2.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds a game in 19 games this season. She played 19.0 minutes a game. She started nine times this season.
She earned the Pac-12’s Sixth Player of the Year last season as a sophomore, averaging 6.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while shooting 47.4 percent from 3-point range and 49.7 percent from the floor in 32 games (with one start).
I can’t wait to spend the next two years playing for Coach Adia Barnes and being a part of a great program❤️ LET’S GET IT TUCSON!!! 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/qCiXVBiQxl
— Taylor Chavez (@Taylormichele3) April 12, 2021
“I can’t wait to spend the next two years playing for Coach Adia Barnes and being a part of a great program,” Chavez tweeted. “LET’S GET IT TUCSON!!!”
Chavez, who has two years of eligibility remaining, entered the transfer portal earlier this week.
She is expected to have immediate eligibility because of the NCAA’s rule to not count this year toward an athlete’s eligibility due to the uncertainty of COVID-19.
She was ranked the No. 61 recruit in the nation according to ESPN as a senior at Valley Vista in 2017-18. She was also the Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year following that season.
She averaged 23.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 5.3 steals as a senior, leading the Monsoon to a second straight 6A state championship.
Chavez is the second transfer to announce she is headed to Arizona since the season ended last Sunday when the Wildcats lost to Stanford in the NCAA championship game.
Vanderbilt forward Koi Love announced last week she is leaving the Commodores for Barnes’ program.
Chavez is also the second Arizona product that will be on the 2021-22 roster. Madi Conner, a guard from Chandler AZ Compass Prep, joined Arizona midway through this season after completing her college-entrance requirements.
The addition of Love and Chavez coincides with the departures of Tara Manumaleuga, Mara Mote and Marta Garcia to the transfer portal.
Here is Arizona’s updated roster for 2021-22:
Arizona Wildcats 2021-22 Roster
| Name | Pos | Ht. | Yr. | Pts | Reb | Ast | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cate Reese | F | 6-2 | Jr. | 11.2 | 5.2 | 0.6 | 24.6 |
| Sam Thomas | F | 6-0 | Sr. | 7.5 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 32.0 |
| Shaina Pellington | G | 5-8 | Jr. | 5.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 15.1 |
| Bendu Yeaney | G | 5-10 | Jr. | 4.0 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 23.3 |
| Lauren Ware | F | 6-3 | Fr. | 4.0 | 3.9 | 0.3 | 16.2 |
| Helena Pueyo | G | 6-0 | Soph. | 3.7 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 21.7 |
| Madison Conner | G | 5-11 | Fr. | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 5.5 |
| Derin Erdogan | G | 5-6 | Fr. | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 3.8 |
| Semaj Smith | C | 6-6 | Jr. | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| Aaronette Vonleh | C | 6-3 | Fr. | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Anna Gret Asi | G | 5-10 | Fr. | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Koi Love | F | 6-0 | Soph. | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Gisela Sanchez | F | 6-3 | Fr. | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Taylor Chavez | G | 5-10 | Jr. | -- | -- | -- | -- |
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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