UIC Athletics

Aaliyah Patty, a veteran standout and Chicagoland native, brings her expertise to the Flames for her third season entering the 2026-27 season.

In the 2025-26 season, Patty contributed to UIC maintaining a 14-18 overall record with a 9-11 record against Missouri Valley Conference opponents.

She played a role in the development of Jessica Carrothers and Julia Coleman. Carrothers finished her lone season as the first member of the program to be named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, averaging 18 points per game (fourth in conference). She also joined Coleman as a member of the All-MVC Newcomer Team.

In the 2024-25 season, Patty helped the Flames go 15-18 in the season, 10-10 in conference play and a third consecutive postseason berth, with a bid to the 2025 WNIT Hosting in the first round against UAB, the Flames secured its first home postseason victory with a 63-48 win over the Blazers. 

As Director of Player Personnel, this is Patty’s first time on a collegiate coaching staff, following a successful playing career overseas and with two power-conference programs.
 
Patty spent last season played professionally for Esperides in Kallithea Athens, Greece. The rookie averaged 18.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, while helping her team to a third-place finish in the Greek A1 League. She finished the season first in the league in blocks and led her team in three-point shooting, blocks and rebounds. 
 
Prior to her professional stint, Patty completed the final two seasons of her collegiate career at Texas A&M during the program’s transition from the Big 12 to the SEC. As a fifth-year senior in 2022-23, she solidified her starting role, averaging 8.4 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. Patty also dominated the paint for the Aggies, swatting away a team-high 37 shots. Her career highs included 21 points against Vanderbilt and 19 rebounds versus Arkansas. The double-double machine dished out a career-high 11 assists against Georgia, becoming the only player in the country over 6 feet tall to record double-digit assists that season. In addition, Patty is a member of the program’s 1,000-point club.
 
Before arriving in College Station, Texas, Patty spent three seasons at Ohio State. During her time with the Buckeyes, Patty averages 8.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, including a career-high 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in her final season in Columbus in 2020-21.
 
Patty is no stranger to the Chicagoland area, as she hails from West Chester, Illinois. She attended Montini Catholic High School, where she was deemed a four-star top-100 recruit by Prospects Nation. Averaging 15.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game as a senior in 2017-18, Patty helped lead the Broncos to a 34-win season and the state title game. That same year, Patty earned first-team all-state honors from the Chicago Tribune and was named to the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Illinois Girls Basketball Team.