In this story:
As the college basketball season hits the midpoint in both men’s and women’s college basketball, the best players in the country are starting to separate themselves from everyone else. Such is the case for one Vanderbilt women’s basketball star.
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes was nominated Tuesday afternoon as one of the players on the National Defensive Player of the Year midseason watch list. Blakes is one of 25 players nominated and one of 12 players from the SEC to be named to the list.
Blakes has been a superstar for Vanderbilt all season on both sides of the floor. On defense, she leads the team in steals with 66 and steals per game with 3.1. Those numbers rank third in the SEC in total steals and fifth in the conference in steals per game. Blakes is the only player in Division I women’s college basketball to be ranked in the top 15 in both points scored (second) and total steals (12th).
Blakes leads the SEC in scoring with 24.7 points per game and has been named Associated Press’ National Player of the Week once and SEC Player of the Week three times this season.
Vanderbilt is 20-1 and having one of its best seasons in program history. The Commodores pose a threat to many around the country and are currently primed to be a host site for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Blakes and Vanderbilt look to continue its great season Friday as Vanderbilt heads to Birmingham, Alabama to take on No. 17 Ole Miss. The game was moved from Mississippi to Alabama due to weather that hit across the southeast over the weekend. Tipoff between the two schools is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
There are no games scheduled today.
No. 18 Vanderbilt men’s basketball beat Kentucky 80-55.
Despite losing to No. 2 South Carolina Sunday afternoon for its first loss of the season, Vanderbilt women’s basketball remained at No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. The Commodores beat a No. 7 Michigan team earlier in the week, which was helpful to keeping them put in the fifth spot.
Vanderbilt is still 20-1 and one of the heavyweights in the SEC. Vanderbilt is behind two SEC teams in No. 3 South Carolina and No. 4 Texas in the poll. With nine games remaining in the regular season, it still has plenty of opportunities to put ranked wins such as Ole Miss, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas on its resume and prove that it is still a force to be reckoned with in the SEC.
16 days
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
© 2026 ABG-SI LLC – SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. – All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates, licensees and related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.
