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Kim Mulkey, LSU women's basketball land commitment from 5-star forward Aalyah Del Rosario

Make it two top 10 Class of 2023 recruits for LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey and her staff.

On Tuesday afternoon, LSU picked up a verbal commitment from five-star forward Aalyah Del Rosario, rated the No. 7 overall prospect in her class by ESPNW HoopGurlz. And this one must feel particularly sweet as Mulkey beat out the likes of South Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina for her pledge.

The 6-foot-6 Del Rosario joined Shreveport native Mikaylah Williams, who's rated as the second-best recruit in this cycle and committed in June, as the second top-10 player to pick the Tigers.

Aalyah Del Rosario (32) grabs the rebound for Webb School vs. Trinity Christian during the Tennessee Division II Class A state girls basketball tournament in March.
Aalyah Del Rosario (32) grabs the rebound for Webb School vs. Trinity Christian during the Tennessee Division II Class A state girls basketball tournament in March.

A Dominican Republic native and the daughter to two former professional basketball players, Aalyah has elevated her game since the start of her junior season at The Webb School, south of Nashville.

Del Rosario, who grew up in the Bronx, averaged a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds per game during her junior season, displaying her skill set of efficient finishing and rebounding prowess.

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Her high school and travel ball teammate, Angelica Velez, committed to Mulkey and LSU last week. Velez rated No. 44 in ESPNW's latest recruiting rankings.

Landing Del Rosario should be a sign of things to come for LSU with Mulkey at the helm. In just her second season in Baton Rouge, the former national championship-winning coach at Baylor has the Tigers ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll at No. 16 and back among the top of women's college basketball in the recruiting ranks.

Per ESPN, LSU already had the sixth-best high school recruiting class in the country, the highest-rated SEC program, and the addition of Del Rosario could catapult the Tigers higher on the list. With Del Rosario and Velez, they have four top 100 prospects commits, a group that also includes No. 72 Janae Kent, a 6-1 wing player from Illinois.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kim Mulkey, LSU women's basketball earn Aalyah Del Rosario commitment