In honor of the Olympic games, as KPRC celebrates Team U.S.A., another Houston area team is doing big things here and across the country. The CyFair Elite 17-u Girls Basketball team recently clinched this year’s Nike EYBL national championship.
An honor so big for this AAU program, only the best in the country can claim this title.
They are the champions of all champions. The CyFair Elite Girls basketball team, now the 2024 Nike EYBL National Champions.
“It was super surreal. It was an amazing feeling for sure. Tears of joy,” said sophomore guard, Jemini Mitchell.
“Yeah, the way I thought about it, one game at a time, don’t lose,” said senior guard, Aniya Foy.
“When we won, I was so happy, it was crazy, that was my second one winning,” said senior guard, Aaliyah Chavez.
“We play at the highest level in basketball. EYBL, there’s no level higher than EYBL. I believe sometimes we can beat a few colleges out there depending on which ones there are,” adds Earl Allen, Director of CyFair Elite Sports.
EYBL stands for Elite Youth Basketball League. It’s made up of many teams across the country. The rigorous schedule consists of tournaments in seven different cities, including here in Houston. The last stop in Chicago for the championship game. To be part of EYBL, players have to be some of the best in the country. And CyFair Elite has been part of Nike’s programs for nineteen years now.
“The ball handling skills, the skill sets these women are bringing to this game are incredible. We have to win. If you don’t win, you can be replaced,” says Allen.
Over the last few years senior and five star recruit Aaliyah Chavez traveled from Lubbock to Cypress, a nine hour car ride, to play on this team.
“I was only seeing my mama a couple months out of the whole year,” said Chavez.
Chavez already has offers from more than twenty division one schools. She is the number one girl’s basketball recruit in the country, ranked by ESPN, averaging almost forty points per game.
“I guess when I come on the court, everything goes away, it’s just me, the ball and my teammates, so the pressure is not on me once I step on the court,” says Chavez.
Other nationally ranked players include, 5′11″ guard from Cinco Ranch High School, Aniya Foy. She’s committed to Kansas State University. 6′1″ guard Jemini Mitchell from Cypress Springs High School, just a sophomore.
And Bella Hines, 5′9″ guard headed to college basketball dynasty, LSU.
All of them top ranked ESPN recruits.
“But me personally, I don’t look at the rankings, I don’t care about them. I just go out there and play my game,” said Mitchell.
When asked what they absolutely love about basketball, what keeps them coming back, Foy said, “Winning definitely. Who doesn’t not want to win?”
And it takes an entire team to get to this pinnacle of success. Players, coaches, parents, have all helped make this dream a reality.
“We always talk about as long as the “we” is winning, the “me” is going to win as well,” said Ransom Okpala, Assistant Director of CyFair Elite Sports.
“That’s what we want them to take from it. The hard work that if they put that into anything they do, they’re going to be successful,” adds Okpala.”
“We’re not done with winning. We’re not done at all. Believe me, we’re not done. What it takes to win is them. Make no mistake about it. It’s about them and if you don’t have them, it’s hard to win at this level,” added Allen.
CyFair Elite has more championship wins than any other program in the EYBL, has produced thirty four McDonald’s All American players, several Team USA Olympians, and WNBA professionals.
But the top priority, other than basketball, Earl says, is getting kids to college.
To date they’ve helped more than three hundred athletes get a higher education.