SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Tuesday that Vanderbilt women’s basketball freshman Mikayla Blakes has been named to the 2025 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award top 10 watch list.
Blakes is the first Commodore to be considered for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which goes to the nation’s top shooting guard since 2018 as part of the Naismith Starting Five awards. The Somerset, New Jersey, native all NCAA Division I freshmen in scoring (22.1 ppg), points scored (509), and field goals made (172). Blakes recently set the SEC women’s basketball and NCAA true freshman scoring records with a 53-point performance at Florida on Jan. 30.
Joining Blakes on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award top 10 watch list are Sarah Ashlee Barker (Alabama), Lauren Jensen (Creighton), Ta’Niya Latson (Florida State), Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU), Shyanne Sellers (Maryland), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Madison Conner (TCU), JuJu Watkins (Southern Cal), and JJ Quinerly (West Virginia).
The guard ranks in the top five among freshmen nationally in made steals (3rd; 55), 3-point field goals (t-3rd, 53), steals per game (4th, 2.47), and free throw percentage (4th, 86.2%). She has scored 20-plus points in 14 games this season, which leads all NCAA freshmen, and she is the only frosh nationally to score 33-plus points in multiple games this season. Overall, Blakes’ 22.1 points per game average ranks seventh among all NCAA players.
Blakes has been named the USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week three times this season and she was named the Associated Press Women’s College Basketball Player of the Week earlier on Tuesday. The guard has also earned a league-high five SEC Freshman of the Week accolades this season, which ties Blakes with Khamil Pierre for the most SEC weekly freshman honors in program history.
Fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday, February 7, at HoopHallAwards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
The final five candidates for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be released to the public on a day-by-day basis starting the week of March 4, with voting set to follow on March 8. The list is fluid throughout the whole process, and players have the ability to play themselves on or off our list until the winner is finally selected. The winner of this award, as well as presentation details, will be announced towards the end of the season.
Blakes is the second Vanderbilt women’s basketball player to be featured on a Naismith Starting Five awards watch list. Senior Sacha Washington, who is medically redshirting this season, was selected to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year preseason watch list.
No. 24/24 Vanderbilt hits the road Thursday, as they travel to No. 4/6 Texas for a top-25 SEC matchup. Tipoff against the Longhorns is set for 8 p.m. CT and airs live on SEC Network. Check back with VUCommodores.com later this week for a full game preview.
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