On Feb. 11, the SEC named Vanderbilt’s freshman shooting guard Mikayla Blakes their Freshman of the Week. The next day, the Naismith Awards named her and her sophomore forward teammate Khamil Pierre to their Women’s College Midseason Team.
Vanderbilt Star Mikayla Blakes Racks Up the Accolades in Impressive Rookie Season
In her only game of the week, Blakes scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds, and tacked on three steals in an 87-66 loss to the fourth-ranked Texas Longhorns.
This was Blakes’ sixth FOTW award this season, which is good for the most in the SEC this year. It also surpasses the program record of five, set by Pierre last season.
Blakes has certainly turned heads in her first season in Nashville. The Somerset, New Jersey native leads all freshmen nationally with 22.1 points per game, which is almost four more points than the next leading freshman scorer.
Additionally, she has already set conference and national records in her first season. She dropped 53 points against the Florida Gators on Jan. 30, the most points ever scored by a first-year player in WBB, edging out Juju Watkins’ 51 points for USC against Stanford on Feb. 3, 2024.
After the game, head coach Shea Ralph talked about her record-setting rookie. “I was very impressed with her poise and composure,” she remarked on Learfield Radio’s postgame show. “She is certainly the best freshman in the country… and there are a lot of good ones.”
According to Alaina Morris of Vandy 247, Ralph also compared Blakes to the likes of women’s basketball mainstays, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart, “because of how effortless the game looks for her.”
Ralph is not the only one who believes in her star two-guard. After Blakes’ bombshell performance in Gainesville, the USBWA named her and her teammate Pierre to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award top 50 watchlist. The Drysdale Award is given to the best shooting guard in the country.
The Commodores have six games remaining in the regular season, starting with a matchup against Mississippi State on Thursday, Feb. 13. Blakes has the chance to add to her collection of weekly accolades and national award watchlists, which could culminate in an SEC Freshman of the Year award.
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According to Blakes herself, though, it’s all about continuing to play the best basketball they can as a team.
“I’m happy I scored those points,” she said after her 53-point night. “But I’m mostly excited… that we’re continuing to make history and continuing to win SEC games.”
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