Blakes Named a Meyers Drysdale Award Finalist – Vanderbilt Commodores

The Vanderbilt sophomore is selected as one of five finalists for the nation's top shooting guard award for the second-straight season
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Tuesday that Vanderbilt women’s basketball sophomore Mikayla Blakes has been named to the 2026 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award top five finalists list.
It is the second-straight season that Blakes has been a top-five finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which has gone to the nation’s top shooting guard since 2018 as part of the Naismith Start Five.
Joining Blakes as finalists for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award are Azzi Fudd (UConn), Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU), Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA) and Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina). She is the only underclassman listed as a finalist for shooting guard of the year this season.
Fans can support Blakes by participating in fan voting, starting Friday, March 13, at HoopHallAwards.com. The fan vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
Later this month, the finalists will be presented to the Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committees. The Selection Committees for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Awards are composed of top women’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
The winners of the 2026 Meyers Drysdale Awards will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward), Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward) and Lisa Leslie Award (Center).
The guard averaged 27.0 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 steals per game. Blakes shot 45.8 percent from the floor and held a 36.1 percent success rate from behind the arc in 2025-26. Her 27.0 points per game led NCAA Division I in scoring, as her 12 games with 30-plus points this season were the most by a player in the country.
Earlier this week, Blakes was named to the Wooden Award National Ballot, and she is a finalist for the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
The Somerset, New Jersey, native has been racking up the awards in 2025-26. Earlier this month, Blakes was named the SEC Player of the Year by both the league’s coaches and USA Today. Blakes was All-SEC first team by both outlets and was selected as a first-team All-American by The Athletic.
Blakes set the SEC ablaze this season. The All-American averaged 30.5 points per game, while shooting 46.9 percent from the floor and 39.8 percent from behind the arc in league games. The guard had 10 of her 12 30-point efforts in the SEC, which includes a season-high 38 points at Mississippi State on Jan. 15. Blakes scored double-digits in every game this season and is currently riding a 50-game double-digit scoring streak, which is the longest active streak in the SEC and third-longest in NCAA Division I.
Blake was named the SEC Player of the Week a school-record six times this season, was selected as the AP National Player of the Year on three occasions, and was named to the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week team five times.
The No. 5/5 Commodores will find out their draw for the 2026 NCAA Tournament this Sunday. The Selection Sunday show airs at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN. Vanderbilt is in the position to host the first two rounds of the tournament at Memorial Gymnasium, as the Dores were a No. 2 seed in the latest NCAA Selection Committee Top 16.
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, follow @VandyWBB on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter/X.
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