Blakes Rises Six Spots to No. 3 in ESPN’s Midseason Player Rankings Behind Historic 17-0 Start
Mikayla Blakes is the Truth
ESPN’s Michael Voepel and Charlie Creme released their 2025-26 midseason women’s NCAA basketball player rankings on Thursday January 15, and as you had wisely expected, Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes is near the top of the list of 25 players.
Blakes checked in at No. 3 just behind UConn’s Sarah Strong at No. 1 and Texas’ Madison Booker at No. 2, which is six spots better than her preseason placement of No. 9 on the list. Blakes is the leader on the floor for the Commodores, and Coach Shea Ralph speaks every chance she gets on her abilities as a person and player there on West End Ave. She helps the team rise to the levels needed, and that is what the great ones do.
“A player like Mikayla is transformational. She is, you know, her belief in our program, her belief in herself, the fact that she decided to come here for all the right reasons, and is taking advantage of what we have to offer her here on and off the basketball court is capitalizing on every opportunity to prove how good she is and how good we are. Um, and, and then continues to get better. Those players don’t come along a lot, and not only does she do that for herself, but she does it for our team,” said Shea Ralph.
Mikayla Blakes currently averages 24.9 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.6 SPG, and consistently shows that she can score a bunch in little amounts of time. Where most players may need a whole game to score 12 to 15 points, she can run that off in as little as three or four minutes easily. It is amazing to see what Blakes can do on the floor, and her unwillingness to let some missed shots get her off her game.
Here is Charlie Creme’s take on Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, as published on espn.com.
“Blakes hasn’t had any 50-point games yet, but the sophomore guard who had two as a freshman is averaging more points at a higher shooting percentage than she did a season ago (46.3%). And her legend continues to grow. Blakes’ 15 fourth-quarter points (out of a total of 32) helped Vanderbilt beat LSU earlier this month, the program’s first win over a top-five team in 17 years. The Commodores’ 17-0 start is their best since the 1992-93 season, when they went to the Final Four. So much of that is thanks to Blakes, who ranks third in the country in scoring and is tied for 11th in steals.” — Creme
Blakes is the star on the team that everyone in the country knows about, and what is even more exciting is she’s just a sophomore. Coach Shea Ralph has a star on hand for a couple of more years after this one, and with continued development and experience Mikayla Blakes should go down as one of the best to ever put on the black and gold there in Nashville.
Featured Image Credit: Vanderbilt Athletics
