The Associated Press named guard Mikayla Blakes a first-team All-American March 18.
Joining Blakes on the first team are UConn’s Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Texas’ Madison Booker.
Blakes became the first Vanderbilt player in 23 years to earn Associated Press first-team All-America honors since Chantelle Anderson’s run from 2000-03. Now a two-time AP All-American after landing on the second team last season, the sophomore guard joins Anderson as the only Commodores to receive multiple AP All-America honors.
Blakes has now been named a first-team All-American five times, adding honors from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, ESPN, The Athletic and The Sporting News. The USBWA also named head coach Shea Ralph National Coach of the Year.
The Somerset, New Jersey, native has piled up accolades throughout the 2025-26 postseason. Earlier this month, Blakes earned SEC Player of the Year honors and also secured first-team All-SEC recognition. Nationally, she has continued to draw attention, landing on the Wooden Award National Ballot, becoming a finalist for both the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award and the Dawn Staley Award and appearing on the late-season watch lists for the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. She is also one of four finalists for the Wade Trophy, joining Betts, Strong and Booker.
On the court, Blakes delivered a standout campaign, averaging 27.0 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 steals across 31 games. She shot 45.8% from the field and 36.1% from three-point range. Her scoring average led all of NCAA Division I, and her 12 games with 30 or more points were the most in the nation. Showcasing her versatility, she is the only player in the country this season to average at least 4.0 assists, 2.9 steals and 2.8 made three-pointers per game.
Vanderbilt opens its 2026 NCAA Tournament at Memorial Gym Saturday, March 21, as the 2-seeded Commodores take on 15-seed High Point.
