Mikayla Blakes is trying to put last season in the past.
That might be a challenge, considering how memorable Blakes’ freshman year was. The SEC Freshman of the Year averaged 23.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2024-25 while leading Vanderbilt women’s basketball to a 22-11 record (8-8 SEC) and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Advertisement
Blakes set the SEC single-game scoring record with 53 points in a win over Florida, then broke it with a 55-point game against Auburn to set the NCAA record for a freshman.
But Blakes, who won MVP honors playing for Team USA at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup, is ready to wipe the slate clean going into her sophomore season.
“My key focus this year is not bringing last year to this year,” Blakes said at SEC media days in Birmingham, Alabama, on Oct. 14. “I think a lot of people base their next year’s success on their past success, and I think this year’s a new team. I have a different role, and I just want to be great for my teammates, so just continuing to bring those things every day.”
What Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said about Mikayla Blakes
Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph remembered the first time she talked to Blakes while recruiting her.
Advertisement
“She has a way about her that makes you understand what a special human being she is,” Ralph said. “You do not look at her when you’re interviewing her as the monster that she is on the basketball court.”
What stood out most to Ralph when watching Blakes play in high school was her “competitive fire,” ability to take in coaching, the way she spoke to her teammates and the way she hugged her parents after leaving the court.
“She represented something to me that you don’t see a lot in great players,” Ralph said. “There’s lots of talent in the country, there’s lots of players with skill. Mikayla has the intangible qualities that I’ve been fortunate enough to witness as a basketball coach and a player in some of the best players that I’ve ever seen the game. …
“It was her motor, it was her intangible qualities that I knew would separate her, not just from being a good player to a great player, but to being one of the best players maybe to ever play the game.”
Advertisement
MORE: Vanderbilt women’s basketball schedule 2025-26 includes Michigan, Paris games
Shea Ralph has high expectations for Aubrey Galvan
Ralph said Blakes will play more off-the-ball this season instead of at point guard, where she played most of her freshman season.
Blakes moving off the ball will make room for freshman Aubrey Galvan to start at point guard. Galvan, a four-star signee from Illinois, has drawn praise from Ralph for her smart, “flashy” style of play.
“I love her because she’s fearless,” Ralph said. “Undersized point guard from the outskirts of Chicago, maybe a little bit under-recruited because she wasn’t on the main circuit in AAU. … I want a high-IQ point guard that understands the game and understands where the ball needs to go and they can play on both ends of the floor. Aubrey can do all of that, and she has a little bit of a chip on her shoulder, which I appreciate.”
Advertisement
Vanderbilt women’s basketball ranked in AP Top 25
Vanderbilt is ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25, which was released on Oct. 14. The Commodores are the seventh-highest ranked team in the SEC, behind No. 2 South Carolina, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Tennessee and No. 11 Ole Miss.
The SEC preseason media poll also has Vanderbilt seventh. Blakes was a preseason first-team All-SEC selection.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt women’s basketball star Mikayla Blakes changing roles
