In early January the Chavez family flew up to Oregon from their hometown in Surprise, Arizona, to see their daughter, Taylor, play at Matthew Knight Arena.
Taylor’s mother, Kim, was waiting anxiously for the game to start when she spotted a sign in the arena that read “Go Taylor #3!”
It was the first sign she had seen made for her daughter.
Holding the sign was a little girl, who looked to be no older than eight. During halftime, Chavez walked over to the little girl and her family and introduced herself as Taylor’s mom.
“The girl’s mother said that her daughter talks about Taylor all the time, and she wants to be just like her, and that was really neat,” Kim said.
She told the family to walk down to the courtside with her after the game to meet Taylor. The little girl’s eyes lit up in awe.
“As a mom, I got emotional in that moment because I remember when [Taylor] was that age,” Chavez said. “It’s so surreal sometimes, and it definitely touched me when I saw that.”
On and off the court, Chavez isn’t a stranger to the spotlight.
She has always been a pillar in her community back in her hometown and is someone that many young athletes look up to, but her road to stardom has not always been easy.
Two years ago, she was the lone freshman on the team, and a foot injury prevented her from playing the entire postseason. One year later, COVID-19 shut down the entirety of the NCAA postseason.
For two years in a row, Chavez was not able to experience the grand excitement and pressure that postseason play brings. This year, it is still to be seen whether she’ll have the chance.
She is in a unique position this season, navigating the post-Ionescu era while also leading a talented freshmen backcourt class.
But this is comfortable territory for Chavez.
As a freshman at Valley Vista High School, Chavez accepted her position early on as a model player and learned what poor leadership looked like at the time.
By the time she was a junior, she was the sole leader that her teammates looked toward. She wanted to create a culture that she didn’t have her first two years of high school.
“In the middle of her junior year I pulled her aside and I said: ‘Taylor, you need to take the reins. And until you do, we are going to struggle. They’re looking for a leader. You are the leader and you need to do it,’’’ Valley Vista’s head coach Rachel Makatas said.
That is exactly what Chavez will need to do this year at Oregon.
Last season, she was first off the bench for head coach Kelly Graves, and known for her tremendous perimeter shooting and tenacious defense. This season, she will be looking to slip into more of a point guard role, as well as the two and three spots.
ESPN dubbed Chavez as the Pac-12’s “emerging player” after she led the conference last year with 47.4% three-point shooting and she ranks second among returning players. Along with sophomore Jaz Shelley, Chavez will be the primary floor general and will lead the team with her invaluable veteran leadership.
“Taylor is the type of teammate who, if she sees a teammate having a crappy practice, she’s the type to call her up on the phone and ask, ‘Hey, let’s go get coffee or something and talk about this,’ because she knows how it feels to be on the other side of that,” Makatas said. “She doesn’t want anyone else to feel like that, she wants everyone to be part of the team and included.”
The Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year grew to be a more vocal leader after her freshman year, and learned by playing behind Ionescu that she will have to take the reins this season.
“On the court, she’s gained so much more confidence,” said one of Chavez’s roommates, Josie Williamson. “I know she has the confidence to make big plays, so I think we’re going to see a lot of good stuff from Taylor this year.”
Whether she is taking the lead on the court or learning from the sidelines, Chavez will always set an example for her teammates, her fans and the athletes that surround her.
