All-American Honors Rolling In

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Freshman Mikayla Blakes has earned an additional pair of All-American honors, as The Sporting News and ESPN have named her to its All-America second team.

It is the third All-American selection for Blakes, as the 2024-25 SEC Freshman of the Year was named to a second-team All-American by The Athletic on March 3.

Blakes is the first Commodore to earn an All-American distinction in 14 seasons, while she becomes the 19th Commodore to be named an All-American by a major women’s basketball publication.  The freshman is the first Commodore to earn an All-American distinction from The Sporting News, as the publication began selecting a women’s college basketball All-American team in 2023-24.

Blakes is the first Vanderbilt women’s basketball player since Jence Rhoads in 2010-11 to earn an All-American recognition, when Rhoads was named to the Associated Press All-American honorable mention squad. Blakes is also the first Commodore to earn first- or second-team All-American honors since Chantelle Anderson’s AP Second-Team All-American selection in 2002-03. Additionally, Blakes is the third Vanderbilt freshman to earn All-American status in program history, joining Barbara Brackman and Harriet Brumfield, who were named to the Women’s Basketball News Service All-America first team in 1981-82.

The Somerset, New Jersey, native has taken the nation by storm in her freshman season. She was named the 2024-25 SEC Freshman of the Year by the SEC coaches and was selected as the SEC Newcomer of the Year by USA Today. In addition, Blakes was named All-SEC first team by both the coaches and USA Today.

Blakes’ 23.2 points per game average is the sixth-best scoring average in NCAA Division I this season, while it leads all freshmen nationally. The guard ranks in the top 20 nationally in six categories and is the only freshman placed inside the top 50 nationally in scoring (7th; 23.2), free throws made (9th; 182), steals (38th; 75) and 3-pointers made (48th; 75).

Her 26.9 points per game average in SEC play led the league, as she scored 30 or more points in five SEC contests. Overall, Blakes has registered 20-plus points in 18 games this season and has collected five-plus assists in eight contests.

Blakes rewrote the NCAA, SEC and Vanderbilt record books multiple times this season. Her 55-point performance at Auburn on Feb. 16 set the NCAA freshman single-game and SEC single-game scoring records. She previously set the SEC single-game and NCAA true freshman scoring records on Jan. 30 with a 53-point effort at Florida. Blakes also set the Vanderbilt single-game scoring record on three separate occasions this season.

The guard has set the Vanderbilt freshman record for most points scored in a season with 743 points through 32 regular season games. Blakes’ 743 points scored are the third-most by a Commodore in a single season in program history. The 743 points are the most scored by a Vanderbilt women’s basketball player since 2001-02 when Chantelle Anderson registered 765 points.

The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team opens the 2025 NCAA Tournament this Friday in Durham, North Carolina, where the No. 7-seeded Commodores will take on No. 10-seed Oregon. Tipoff from Cameron Indoor Stadium is set for 4:30 p.m. CT and will air live on ESPNews.

For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, follow @VandyWBB on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.