For the previous two years, Mikayla Blakes has been the high-scoring engine of Vanderbilt girls’s basketball.
Coach Shea Ralph’s aim for 2026-27 is that the Commodores could have sufficient items round Blakes to free her as much as do every little thing else − to be a pacesetter and to do extra with out the ball.
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“How can she get higher?” Ralph mentioned. “It is in management, persevering with to make use of her voice, it is to find different methods to impression the sport now that we’re persevering with to place items round her. The majority of the scoring has needed to lean on her shoulders. That does not imply she’s not going to attain the ball. She will nonetheless do this very properly. However now there’s different ways in which we will open up her recreation to impression successful as a result of we’re capable of put gamers round her.”
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Contents
- 1. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 2. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 3. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 4. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 5. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 6. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 7. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 8. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 9. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 10. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 11. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 12. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 13. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 14. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 15. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 16. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 17. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 18. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 19. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 20. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 21. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 22. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 23. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 24. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 25. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 26. Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball coach in fifth season with Commodores
- 27. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 28. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 29. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 30. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 31. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 32. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 33. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 34. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 35. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 36. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 37. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 38. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 39. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 40. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 41. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 42. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 43. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 44. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 45. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 46. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 47. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 48. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 49. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 50. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 51. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 52. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 53. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
- 54. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 27: Mikayla Blakes #1 of the Vanderbilt Commodores shoots the ball Cassandre Prosper #8 of the Notre Dame Preventing Irish through the third quarter within the Candy Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Girls’s Basketball Match at Dickies Area on March 27, 2026 in Fort Price, Texas. (Photograph by Stacy Revere/Getty Pictures)
(Stacy Revere, Getty Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 27: Mikayla Blakes #1 of the Vanderbilt Commodores shoots the ball Cassandre Prosper #8 of the Notre Dame Preventing Irish through the third quarter within the Candy Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Girls’s Basketball Match at Dickies Area on March 27, 2026 in Fort Price, Texas. (Photograph by Stacy Revere/Getty Pictures)
(Stacy Revere, Getty Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Justine Pissott (13) and guard Mikayla Blakes (1) have fun defeating Excessive Level within the first spherical of the NCAA faculty basketball match at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, March 21, 2026.
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates a 3 level shot towards Illinois through the second half of a second spherical NCAA faculty basketball match recreation at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, March 23, 2026.
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates her three level shot towards Excessive Level through the first half within the first spherical of the NCAA faculty basketball match at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, March 21, 2026.
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) strikes the ball whereas guarded by Tennessee guard Nya Robertson (1) throughout an NCAA faculty basketball recreation on March 1, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
(Saul Younger/USA TODAY Community)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt’s Aiyana Mitchell (14) and Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes (1) have fun their win over Kentucky at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Fitness center Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.
(Alan Poizner/For The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes (1) shoots the ball throughout their recreation towards Kentucky at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Fitness center Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.
(Alan Poizner/For The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) and guard/ahead Justine Pissott (13) have fun defeating Texas at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) brings the ball up the courtroom towards Texas through the third quarter at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – FEBRUARY 9: Mikayla Blakes #1 of the Vanderbilt Commodores drives in direction of the basket towards the Oklahoma Sooners within the first half at Vanderbilt College Memorial Gymnasium on February 9, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Carly Mackler / Getty Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) shoots previous Florida guard Liv McGill (23) through the third quarter at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) sings autographs after defeating Florida at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates after defeating Florida at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 25: Mikayla Blakes #1 of the Vanderbilt Commodores drives to the basket whereas guarded by Joyce Edwards #8 of the South Carolina Gamecocks within the second half throughout their recreation at Colonial Life Area on January 25, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Pictures)
(Jacob Kupferman, Getty Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Mikayla Blakes #1 of the Vanderbilt Commodores brings the ball up courtroom towards the Texas A&M Aggies through the second half at Reed Area on January 11, 2026 in School Station, Texas.
(Alex Slitz, Getty Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) drives to the basket towards Auburn through the second half of an NCAA faculty basketball recreation at Memorial Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt received 81-53.
(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Auburn guard A’riel Jackson (7) appears to move the ball as Vanderbilt’s Sacha Washington (35) and Mikayla Blakes (1) through the second half of an NCAA faculty basketball recreation at Memorial Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt received 81-53.
(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Missouri guard Chloe Sotell (22) is defended by Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) through the first half of an NCAA faculty basketball recreation at Memorial Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) tries to drive previous Missouri guard Chloe Sotell (22) through the first half of an NCAA faculty basketball recreation at Memorial Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) drives away from Louisiana State strain throughout their recreation at Memorial Gymnasium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
(Denny Simmons / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) guards Louisiana State guard Milaysia Fulwiley (23) throughout their recreation at Memorial Gymnasium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
(Denny Simmons / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates along with her teammates after the ladies’s basketball recreation between the Vanderbilt Commodores and Virginia Cavaliers at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
(NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Virginia Cavaliers guard Jillian Brown (4) guards Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) as Virginia Cavaliers ahead Caitlin Weimar (12) additionally guards through the girls’s basketball recreation between the Vanderbilt Commodores and Virginia Cavaliers at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
(NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates along with her teammates after the ladies’s basketball recreation between the Vanderbilt Commodores and Virginia Cavaliers at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
(NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball coach in fifth season with Commodores
Vanderbilt Coach, Shea Ralph, hugs Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) after the ladies’s basketball recreation between the Vanderbilt Commodores and Virginia Cavaliers at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
(NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt Commodores guard Aubrey Galvan (3) guards whereas Furman Paladins ahead Kyraha Parnell (4) makes an attempt to dribble towards Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) through the girls’s basketball recreation between Vanderbilt vs Furman on the Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.
(NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) dribbles the ball whereas Furman Paladins ahead Clare Coyle (2) defends through the girls’s basketball recreation between Vanderbilt vs Furman on the Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.
(NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Mar 6, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates towards the Tennessee Woman Vols through the first half at Bon Secours Wellness Area. Obligatory Credit score: Scott Kinser-Imagn Pictures
(Scott Kinser, Scott Kinser-Imagn Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Mar 7, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) on protection towards South Carolina Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson (25) at Bon Secours Wellness Area. Obligatory Credit score: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Pictures
(Jim Dedmon, Jim Dedmon-Imagn Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Mar 6, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) drives on Tennessee Woman Vols guard Jewel Spear (0) through the second half at Bon Secours Wellness Area. Obligatory Credit score: Scott Kinser-Imagn Pictures
(Scott Kinser, Scott Kinser-Imagn Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Mar 6, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes (1) shoots towards Tennessee Woman Vols ahead Jillian Hollingshead (53) through the second half at Bon Secours Wellness Area. Obligatory Credit score: Scott Kinser-Imagn Pictures
(Scott Kinser, Scott Kinser-Imagn Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) rushes previous South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao (0) through the second quarter at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.
(Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) and Oklahoma ahead Liz Scott (34) battle for a rebound within the third quarter throughout an NCAA girls’s basketball recreation between Oklahoma and Vanderbilt at Lloyd Noble Heart in Norman, Okla., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025.
(NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes (1) and Mississippi State ahead Quanirah Montague, left, scramble for the ball in double additional time throughout an NCAA faculty basketball recreation Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) drives to the basket previous Mississippi State heart Madina Okot (15) throughout an NCAA faculty basketball recreation Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – FEBRUARY 02: Mikayla Blakes #1 of the Vanderbilt Commodores shoots a three-point basket through the second half towards the Ole Miss Rebels at Vanderbilt College Memorial Gymnasium on February 02, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photograph by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Pictures)
(Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – FEBRUARY 02: Mikayla Blakes #1 of the Vanderbilt Commodores dribbles the ball previous Sira Thienou #0 of the Ole Miss Rebels through the first half at Vanderbilt College Memorial Gymnasium on February 02, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photograph by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Pictures)
(Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty Pictures)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Mikayla Blakes, talks to a reporter from The Tennessean at Huber Heart in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
(Nicole Hester / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) makes an attempt to attain as Alabama guard Aaliyah Nye (32) and Alabama ahead Essence Cody (21) try to dam her at Coleman Coliseum Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.
(Caroline Simmons-Tuscaloosa Information)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) reacts after defeating Arkansas at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.
(Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) shoots previous Arkansas guard Kiki Smith (2) through the second quarter at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.
(Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Arkansas guard Kiki Smith (2) appears for a path previous Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) through the first quarter at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.
(Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates after defeating Tennessee at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.
(Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates after defeating Tennessee at Memorial Fitness center in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.
(Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) tries to knock the ball away from Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore (3) as Dazia Lawrence (10) helps put throughout an NCAA faculty basketball recreation Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) drives to the basket towards Kentucky throughout an NCAA faculty basketball recreation Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Dec. 1: Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes (1) reaches in making an attempt to steal the ball away from Appalachian State’s Rylan Moffitt (15).
(Mark Zaleski, The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt girls’s basketball head coach Shea Ralph and affiliate head coach Tom Garrick’s daughter, Maysen Garrick, proper, receives a ball from guard Mikayla Blakes throughout participant introductions earlier than an NCAA faculty basketball recreation towards Appalachian State Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) will get procession of a rebound throughout an NCAA faculty basketball recreation towards Appalachian State Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) shoots towards Arizona at Acrisure Area in Palm Desert, Calif., on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
(Taya Grey/The Desert Solar)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) appears to shoot as Arizona guard Jada Williams (2) defends at Acrisure Area in Palm Desert, Calif., on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
(Taya Grey/The Desert Solar)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) falls over Lipscomb guard Claira McGowan (1) going for the ball throughout an NCAA faculty basketball recreation Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
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Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt girls’s basketball star guard with 55-point recreation
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, proper, steals the ball away from Lipscomb guard Ainhoa Cea (14) throughout an NCAA faculty basketball recreation Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.
(Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)
Blakes was the 2026 SEC Participant of the 12 months and led the nation in scoring with 27 factors per recreation. She additionally added on 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per recreation. Alongside her, Aubrey Galvan emerged as SEC Freshman of the 12 months after averaging 13.5 factors and 5.7 assists per recreation and the group made the Candy 16.
Blakes and Galvan are again, however Vanderbilt’s prime function gamers should not after the departures of Justine Pissott, Ndjakalenga Mwnentanda and Sacha Washington, the opposite three members of its 2025-26 beginning lineup. Of their place, Ralph introduced in transfers Vernell Atamah and Mia Woolfolk and freshmen Olivia Jones, Jhai Johnson and Sther Ubaka.
Ralph mentioned that the Commodores acquired what they wanted within the switch portal. She described Atamah as an elite shooter, whereas Woolfolk is a flexible large with SEC expertise after transferring from Georgia who has performed properly towards Vanderbilt prior to now.
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Woolfolk, specifically, may broaden her recreation in new methods. With the Bulldogs, she averaged 13.9 factors per recreation in 2025-26 and shot 60.2% from the sphere, however she has tried just one three prior to now two years. Whereas it might not come straight away, Vanderbilt is engaged on increasing her vary and enjoying extra on the perimeter, which may permit her to play with returning bigs Aiyana Mitchell and Aalyah Del Rosario.
“Giving Mia the chance to develop exterior the lane has been actually enjoyable up to now. It’ll take a while. … What’s distinctive about Mia is that she will be able to additionally, as soon as we get her to that time, when she continues to develop, dominate on the perimeter. She will do each.”
The freshman class is led by Jones, a 5-star guard, whose depth and consistency reminds Ralph of Blakes. There’s additionally 4-star ahead Johnson, who is a wonderful rebounder, and Ubaka, who brings some physicality as a combo-forward.
“Olivia Jones has been unimaginable,” Ralph mentioned. “One among our most constant gamers in follow, which says so much a couple of freshman, jogs my memory a ton of Mikayla. I do not suppose it is truthful to say that, since you do not wish to examine the 2, however when it comes to her impression on our program, on our group, the depth that she practices with, the willpower, the perspective she brings day by day, her persona, it jogs my memory loads of a number of the best gamers I’ve coached.”
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Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
This text initially appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Shea Ralph constructed Vanderbilt girls’s basketball roster round Mikayla Blakes
