Should Mikayla Blakes Win National Player of the Year? Numbers Suggest She Should – Sports Illustrated

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When Vanderbilt star guard Mikayla Blakes was projected in the preseason to make All-SEC First Team, fans and voters knew how good Blakes was. After a phenomenal freshman year that resulted in her winning SEC Freshman of the Year, coaches in the SEC knew she was among the better players in the conference. However, fans and coaches likely had no idea how good Blakes actually would be.
During the 2025-2026 season, Blakes has been the main catalyst to what has been a historic year for Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball program. Before the SEC Tournament has even begun, the Commodores have already set a program record for wins in a season after a 27-3 regular season. Vanderbilt, picked to finish eighth in SEC in the preseason poll, finished in second place in a SEC that has five teams currently ranked in the AP Top 7.
All that success is a major credit to Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph and Blakes’ freshman teammate Aubrey Galvan. But without Blakes, there is no telling how Vanderbilt’s season would have gone. On Tuesday, Ralph was named the SEC Coach of the Year, Galvan was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and Blakes was named the SEC Player of the Year. It was just the sixth time a school has swept all three awards.
How dominant has Blakes been en route to being recognized as the best player in what is widely known as toughest in the country? She is the first player in the SEC this century to average 30 points per game.
Now, Blakes is a strong candidate for National Player of the Year. As of now, the race for the highest award in the sport seems to be narrowed down to Blakes and UConn’s Sarah Strong.
Who should win the award? It is time to compare the numbers.
27.1 PPG (1st)
4.6 APG
3.9 RPG
2.9 SPG
46.6 FG%
36.1 3P%
85.9 FT%
18.6 PPG
4.3 APG
7.6 RPG
3.2 SPG
59.5 FG%
40.7 3P%
88.1 FT%
As the numbers indicate, Blakes produces far more than Strong offensively. Blakes is college basketball’s leading scorer and it is nearly nine points per game more than the other player that is considered to be in the National Player of the Year conversation.
Where Strong has an argument is her efficiency. Strong’s shooting numbers are certainly nothing to scoff at especially when she is on a team that is undefeated going into conference tournament week.
But what probably should have consideration is the competition that Strong and Blakes are playing against. While UConn cannot necessarily control its schedule, it is the only team in the Big East that is ranked. UConn has not played a ranked team since beating Tennessee on Feb. 1. 
Contrast that to Blakes’ and Vanderbilt’s schedule this season. Vanderbilt has faced off against eight ranked teams during conference play. In a conference like the SEC that is almost sure to have two teams as No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and probably two teams that will be No. 2 seeds in the tournament, the schedule is unforgiving and certainly not light. Yet, Blakes managed to average 30 points per game during conference play and surprise people by getting her team to second place.
Not to mention, when Blakes has faced against ranked competition she has been at her best. Blakes became just the second player this century to score 30 or more five consecutive times against ranked competition. Not only is Blakes a factor in Vanderbilt’s strongest wins of the season, but she has been perhaps the biggest reason for them.
Strength of schedule is not everything, but when the disparity of competition between two players being debated for the sports’ highest award is so great, their strength of schedule must be considered.
Blakes may not be as statistically efficient as Strong and her team may not be undefeated, but Blakes has produced more for her team against tougher competition than Strong has. The numbers and the data heading into the postseason suggests that Blakes should be awarded the National Player of the Year.
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.
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