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Sandia's Benally flips commitment from Princeton to BYU
Sandia’s Sydney Benally goes up for a shot during a Nov. 24 game against Hobbs at Sandia High School. Benally, one of the top girls players in the state, on Friday announced she flipped her college commitment from Princeton to BYU.
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It’s Provo, not Princeton for Sydney Benally.
The Sandia High School girls basketball star on Friday morning made an unexpected announcement on her social media account, informing her followers that she had flipped her commitment from Princeton to BYU.
Benally said Friday in a phone interview from Las Cruces, where Sandia is playing two games this weekend, that she changed her mind during the Thanksgiving holiday.
"It was more of just a reality check," she said. "It was hard to find Princeton, hard to watch their games, and it's always been a dream of mine to play in front of my loved ones."
Distance, Benally said — and the lure of top-notch competition in the Big 12 — drove her decision to flip.
BYU, located in Provo, Utah, was one of Benally's four finalists, along with Princeton, UNLV and Northwestern.
"BYU was recruiting me hard and ... I like their program," Benally said. "I want to be closer to home and play on the big stage."
Benally is rated No. 88 on the ESPN W top 100 list for the Class of 2025.
"This decision, I made it for myself," she said. "I highly value academics, but I love playing basketball and I just want to compete at the highest level."
BYU, she said, "I feel like they are on the rise. They prioritize defense, they push the ball up the floor and look for their shooters."
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Benally said she would not officially sign with the Cougars until the spring.
She wrote on her X account Friday: “I’m excited for this next chapter and can’t wait to join the Cougar family. Go COUGS!”.
Benally and the Matadors, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 5A and the defending state champion, routed Mayfield on Friday night and face Centennial on Saturday morning.
Benally announced her original decision to attend Princeton on Oct. 27. BYU finished 16-17 last season.
Benally had 25 total offers. The 5-foot-9 guard entered the 2024-25 season as the state’s top returning high school player.
She averaged 21.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.3 steals for Sandia in its championship season, and was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year.
