SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Vanderbilt women’s basketball sophomore Mikayla Blakes is in contention for the nation’s top shooting guard award once again, as the All-American was named to the preseason watch list for the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award, part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Starting 5 awards, after being a finalist last season.
Blakes, who scored 40 points against Memphis in exhibition action on Monday in the 2025 Hoops for St. Jude Tip Off Classic at FedExForum, is one of 20 players named to the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award preseason watch list. The Somerset, New Jersey, native was one of five finalists for the nation’s top shooting guard in 2024-25. She is the only Commodore in program history to be considered for the Ann Meyer-Drysdale Award.
The guard, who was named preseason first-team All-SEC by the league’s coaches and media, is coming off the most successful freshman campaign in program history. Blakes averaged 23.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.4 steals per game a season ago. Her 23.3 points per game average ranked first among all NCAA Division I freshmen, while she led first-year players nationally in seven different categories. She also posted the second-highest scoring average (23.3 ppg) in a season in school history and scored the second-most points (769).
Blakes was named the USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year last season, making her the first Commodore to win a National Freshman of the Year honor from any publication. She was also named an All-American by six different publications during her rookie campaign.
Along with her national honors, Blakes was selected as the SEC Freshman of the Year by the league’s coaches and was named the SEC Newcomer of the Year by USA Today in 2024-25. The guard set the NCAA Division I single-game scoring record for a freshman by scoring 55 points in an overtime win at Auburn on Feb. 16, 2025. Blakes twice set the SEC and Vanderbilt single-game scoring records, as she first had 53 points at Florida on Jan. 30, then topped that performance with a 55-point effort at Auburn. She is the second NCAA Division I player in NCAA history to score 53-plus points in multiple games in a season and the first since the 1988-89 campaign.
The No. 19/21-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team opens the 2025-26 season on Nov. 3, as the Commodores travel to Paris, France, to face California at Oui-Play Paris. Tipoff against the Golden Bears is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
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2026 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates*
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Taliah Scott, Baylor
Delaney Gibb, BYU
Lulu Twidale, Cal
Ashlon Jackson, Duke
Elle Evans, Kansas
Tajianna Roberts, Louisville
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Kaylene Smikle, Maryland
Syla Swords, Michigan
Zamareya Jones, NC State
Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma
Rachel Ullstrom, Richmond
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina
Laila Phelia, Syracuse
Ruby Whitehorn, Tennessee
Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA
Azzi Fudd, UConn
Destiny Leo, UNLV
Kara Dunn, USC
*Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2025-26 season
