Five-star TSSAA Miss Basketball finalist Aalyah Del Rosario picks LSU over Tennessee, South Carolina
Aalyah Del Rosario committed to LSU women's basketball over the Tennessee Lady Vols and reigning national champion South Carolina on Tuesday.
Del Rosario is a five-star, 6-foot-6 post player, ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2023 by espnW HoopGurlz. She joins Webb School-Bell Buckle teammate Angelica Velez, a point guard ranked No. 44. Also in LSU's 2023 class are guard Mikaylah Williams, the No. 2 player in the nation, and wing Janae Kent, who is ranked No. 73.
SportsCenter NEXT aired her announcement on an Instagram livestream, which showed Del Rosario unzipping her jacket to reveal a purple LSU shirt.
Del Rosario emigrated from the Dominican Republic when she was 12. Her parents, Luisa and Ocany Del Rosario, both played basketball professionally. She's got soft hands around the rim and is an excellent finisher and rebounder.
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Del Rosario, a TSSAA Division II-A Miss Basketball finalist, averaged 13 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 blocks last season. She selected to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association's high school girls basketball all-state team.
The commitment hurts a little more for Tennessee, which has yet to receive a commitment from the 2023 class and was also recruiting Velez. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has two verbal commitments in Tessa Johnson and Sahnya Jah, ranked No. 25 and No. 40, respectively.
Del Rosario and Velez led Webb to a TSSAA Division II Class A championship in March, ending the season on a 21-game win streak in their first season with the school. The pair previously played at Trenton Catholic Academy in New Jersey and both play for New Heights NYC during the AAU season.
Del Rosario was recruited by a number of top schools, including North Carolina, NC State, South Carolina, LSU, Texas A&M, Texas, Auburn and Rutgers.
Del Rosario became a gold medalist this summer with Team USA at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship.
Webb played a national-caliber schedule last season, and five of its six losses were to out-of-state powers including Montverde Academy (Florida), Etiwanda (California), La Jolla Country Day (California) and Hazel Green and Hoover from Alabama. Del Rosario improved her game with the high level of competition and was highlighted by ESPN as a recruit who increased her stock by the end of the 2021-22 season.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Aalyah Del Rosario commits to LSU women's basketball over Tennessee
