Averaging 27 points per game — the best scoring average in the entire country — Mikayla Blakes has turned Vanderbilt women’s basketball into one of…
Averaging 27 points per game — the best scoring average in the entire country — Mikayla Blakes has turned Vanderbilt women’s basketball into one of the most compelling stories of the 2025-26 college basketball season. Now, a national award committee has taken notice.
On Wednesday, Blakes was officially named a finalist for the Wade Trophy, one of the most prestigious individual honors in women’s college basketball. The announcement confirms what Vanderbilt fans have watched all season: this is not just a good player having a good year. This is a historic performance by any measure.
For a program that has rarely seen this kind of national spotlight, the moment carries real weight — both for Blakes personally and for what Vanderbilt women’s basketball has become this season.
The Wade Trophy is presented annually by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and goes to the best women’s basketball player in the country. It is one of the sport’s top individual honors, carrying decades of history and recognition across the college game.
Being named a finalist is not a participation nod — it means the selection committee identified Blakes as one of the four best players in the nation this season. That is a distinction very few Vanderbilt players have ever earned.
In fact, Blakes is only the second Vanderbilt player in program history to reach finalist status. The first was Chantelle Anderson, who was a finalist during both the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons. More than two decades passed between Anderson’s recognition and Blakes’ — which tells you something about just how rare this level of individual excellence has been in Nashville.
Blakes is competing against three other standout players for the award. Here is a look at the finalists:
It is a group that reflects the best of women’s college basketball this season. UConn, UCLA, and Texas are perennial powerhouses. The fact that Blakes — playing for a program not historically known as an elite women’s basketball destination — stands alongside those players says everything about the kind of season she has put together.
Blakes’ case for the Wade Trophy is built on a statistical foundation that is hard to argue with. She leads the entire nation in scoring at 27 points per game — and that number actually climbs during conference play, where she has averaged 30 points per game.
Those are not just impressive numbers in isolation. Leading the country in scoring while elevating your performance against tougher competition is exactly the kind of consistency award voters look for.
The program-record win total is particularly significant. It means Blakes has not just padded her own stats — she has actually made Vanderbilt a better team, pushing the program further than it has ever gone before.
Coming into this season, Vanderbilt was not widely considered a national title contender. Programs like UConn, Texas, UCLA, and South Carolina occupy that conversation most years. Vanderbilt was not in it.
Barack Obama's bracket.
UConn 🏆
Vanderbilt 👉 Elite 8
Michigan > Louisville Sweet 16
Don't forget to get YOUR bracket ➡️ https://t.co/fneTUdyqIS #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/YvH4OSDqGU
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 18, 2026
Shootaround at PayCom Center pic.twitter.com/KQSRzwyvl1
— Vanderbilt Men's Basketball (@VandyMBB) March 18, 2026
.@American_Conf 𝙈𝙞𝙙𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠
⚓️ Gabby Putman pic.twitter.com/bFoEKHovv0
— Vanderbilt Lacrosse (@VandyLacrosse) March 17, 2026
Next up: @ConferenceUSA Bowling Tournament#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/bpRwZ6G54E
— Vanderbilt Bowling (@VandyBowling) March 16, 2026
Dores supporting Dores ⚓️
Let’s go @VandyMBB! pic.twitter.com/zAFgNy4u1E
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) March 14, 2026
Then Blakes happened.
The Commodores climbed as high as No. 4 in the AP Top 25 — a ranking that would have been almost unthinkable for this program in the preseason. They finished with a record good enough to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they are hosting the first two rounds, meaning Blakes gets to chase a deep tournament run in front of her home crowd.
That combination — record wins, top-five national ranking, a No. 2 seed, and a nation-leading scorer — is what a Wade Trophy campaign looks like. Blakes has checked every box.
The Wade Trophy winner will be announced on April 2, which means Blakes still has basketball to play before that decision is made. The Commodores open NCAA Tournament play on Saturday, hosting No. 15 seed High Point in the first round. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.
As a No. 2 seed playing at home against a 15-seed, Vanderbilt will enter as a heavy favorite. But March has a way of making those matchups interesting, and Blakes will be the story regardless of how it unfolds.
A strong tournament run would only strengthen her Wade Trophy case heading into the April 2 announcement. More importantly, it would give Vanderbilt women’s basketball something it has never had before — a genuine deep NCAA Tournament run built around one of the most dominant offensive players in the country.
For Blakes, the award recognition is meaningful. But right now, there is still a tournament to play.
What is the Wade Trophy?
The Wade Trophy is an annual award presented by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) that goes to the best women’s basketball player in the country.
Who are the other Wade Trophy finalists alongside Mikayla Blakes?
The other finalists are Sarah Strong of UConn, Lauren Betts of UCLA, and Madison Booker of Texas.
When will the Wade Trophy winner be announced?
The winner will be announced on April 2.
Has a Vanderbilt player ever been a Wade Trophy finalist before?
Yes — Chantelle Anderson was a finalist during the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons, making Blakes only the second Vanderbilt player ever to reach finalist status.
What is Mikayla Blakes’ scoring average this season?
Blakes is averaging 27 points per game, which leads the entire nation, and 30 points per game during conference play.
When does Vanderbilt play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament?
Vanderbilt hosts No. 15 seed High Point on Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
Claire Ashworth is a New York-based sports correspondent covering international rugby, college basketball, Paralympic competition, and Formula 1. She builds every story around named analysts, verified data, and on-record sources — finding the human detail and statistical context that goes beyond the scoreline.
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