NEW YORK – On Wednesday, the Associated Press announced that Vanderbilt women’s basketball standout Mikayla Blakes has been named a first-team All-American. Blakes is the first Commodore to earn AP All-America first team honors in 23 seasons.
The sophomore’s selection marks the first time since Chantelle Anderson (2000-03) that Vanderbilt has had a player named to the five-member AP All-America first team. It is Blakes’ second AP All-American honor, as she earned a spot on the second team last season. The guard joins Anderson as the only Commodores to earn multiple AP All-American honors in their career.
It is the Blakes’ fifth first-team All-American selection this postseason. The sophomore has also earned the distinction from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, ESPN, The Athletic and The Sporting News.
The Somerset, New Jersey, native has been racking up the awards during the 2025-26 postseason. Earlier this month, Blakes was selected as the SEC Player of the Year by both the league’s coaches and USA Today, and was named to the All-SEC first team by both outlets. On the national awards scene, the guard is on the Wooden Award National Ballot, is a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award and the Dawn Staley Award, and was included on the Late Season Watch List for both the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Blakes averaged 27.0 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 steals per game in 31 games this season. She shot 45.8 percent from the floor and held a 36.1 percent success rate from behind the arc in 2025-26. Her 27.0 points per game led NCAA Division I in scoring, as her 12 games with 30-plus points this season were the most by a player in the country. An all-around talent on the court, Blakes is the only NCAA player this season to average over 4.0 assists, 2.9 steals, and 2.8 3-pointers made per game this season.
Blakes set the SEC ablaze this season. 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. She is the first SEC player this century to average over 30 points per game in league play. The guard had 10 of her 12 30-point efforts in the SEC, which includes a season-high 38 points at Mississippi State on Jan. 15. Blakes scored double-digits in every game this season and is currently riding a 50-game double-digit scoring streak, which is the longest active streak in the SEC and third-longest in NCAA Division I.
Blake was named the SEC Player of the Week a school-record six times this season, was selected as the AP National Player of the Year on three occasions and was named to the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week team four times.
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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