ATLANTA – On Thursday, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced that Vanderbilt women’s basketball sophomore Mikayla Blakes has been named a semifinalist for the 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year, while head coach Shea Ralph was selected as a 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year semifinalist.
Blakes was one of 10 named semifinalists for the 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year, while Ralph was also one of 10 semifinalists announced for the 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year. The four finalists for both Naismith awards will be announced on March 25, while the winners will be named on April 1.
In her fifth season at the helm in the Music City, Ralph took a Vanderbilt team that returned just one starter from a season ago and led the Commodores to their most successful regular season in school history in 2025-26. She guided Vandy to a 27-4 overall record and a 13-3 mark in SEC games. The Dores concluded the SEC regular season tied for second place, matching the best conference finish in program history. Ralph guided Vanderbilt to a top-five ranking in both the AP top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA coaches poll for the first time since the 2001-02 season. The Commodores spent five weeks inside the top five, while Vanderbilt has been ranked in the top 10 in both polls for 11 consecutive weeks heading into the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Blakes is averaging 27.0 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 steals per game this season. Her 27.0 points per game led NCAA Division I in scoring, while her 12 games with 30-plus points this season were the most by a player in the country. The sophomore set the SEC ablaze this season, as the All-American averaged 30.5 points per game, while shooting 46.9 percent from the floor and 39.8 percent from behind the arc in league games. Blakes had 10 of her 12 30-point efforts against SEC teams, which includes a season-high 38 points at Mississippi State on Jan. 15.
Vanderbilt earned a No. 2 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, as Memorial Gymnasium will host games in the first two rounds. It is the first time the Commodores have been a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2006-07, while Memorial Gym will be hosting March Madness contests for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.
No. 6/6-ranked Vanderbilt opens the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Memorial Gym this Saturday, as the No. 2-seeded Commodores take on No. 15-seed High Point. Tipoff against the Panthers is set for 6 p.m. CT and airs live across the country on ESPNEWS.
Fans can click the link here to purchase tickets for the first and second round NCAA Tournament games at Memorial Gym. For more information about Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament, click the link here.
The Anchored for Her Campaign
Vanderbilt launched the Anchored for Her campaign to honor its pioneering female student-athletes and cement the university’s place as the premier destination for women’s sports ahead of next year’s 50th anniversary of its varsity women’s teams. Bolstered by lead gifts from Vanderbilt Board of Trust members Nina Kohler and Kathleen Justice-Moore, JD’91, Anchored for Her’s initial $50 million goal will fuel investment in sustainable success for a new era of collegiate athletics through facility enhancements, endowed scholarships, coaching and staff positions, capital support and naming opportunities, team-specific Excellence Funds, the Women’s Athletics General Fund and the Competitive Excellence Fund.
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