Albuquerque prep star Dylan Chavez commits to play for UNM Lobo basketball

Sitting in the Pit next to his dad and his grandpa, Dylan Chavez used to watch Lobos of the past 15 years or so like Jamal Fenton, Alex Kirk, Hugh Greenwood and Cameron Bairstow.

His personal favorites, he said, were Kendall Williams and Deshawn Delaney.

And as the young Albuquerque boy cheered on those Lobos, he had the same dream as hundreds of other kids in that situation.

“I just always wanted to play there,” Chavez said.

On Thursday, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard who will play this season for La Cueva after having played last year for ABC Prep, announced he has committed to play for those very same Lobos.

“I wanted to stay home, play in front of my family,” Chavez told the Journal after a ceremony in the ABC Prep gym, where he announced his Lobos decision in front of family, friends and local media.

“I grew up a Lobo fan. My dad and my grandpa would take me to the games as a kid. So I think it’d be awesome to stay home and play for the city I grew up in,” he said.

Chavez, who had a handful of Division I scholarship offers and was once committed to play, on scholarship, for the New Mexico State Aggies, will be a preferred walk-on for the Lobos as part of the Class of 2024.

He joins 6-2 guard Kayde Dotson of Beaumont (Texas) United High School, who committed to UNM on Sept. 20, as the first two members of the Lobos’ 2024 class.

Chavez decommitted from NMSU in the spring when former head coach Greg Heiar was fired and the Aggies’ tumultuous season was cancelled.

After Chavez was no longer committed to play for the Aggies, he says plenty of schools recruited him again, but he wanted two things: To try to be committed by the time his senior season started at La Cueva and, ultimately, the opportunity to stay home and play in front of family and friends was too much to pass up.

Asked if there was one Lobo he would most say his game is similar to, Chavez said he feels he’s mostly his own type of player before adding this:

“If I had to compare someone and myself on the court, it’d definitely be Anthony Mathis,” Chavez said of the former Lobo sharpshooter who is now playing professionally in the G-League. “I actually texted him today telling him I’m doing it. He’s been a mentor to me. He’s kind of guided me and helped me throughout this process. So I’d say Anthony Mathis for sure.”

The two initially touched base when Chavez was attending a Lobo hoops camp several years ago and Mathis, Chavez said, became a trusted mentor.

“That’s dope!” Mathis told the Journal in a text message on Thursday afternoon about Chavez’s commitment to be a Lobo. “Really good kid and him coming to UNM, it’s huge for a local kid with his talent to stay at UNM!”

Chavez, who played for ABC Prep last year and still plays club ball for that program, is playing this season for La Cueva High School. He said he was happy to get his commitment announcement out of the way before the season starts so he can focus on trying to win a state title for the Bears.