Mikayla Blakes, Shea Ralph Named Finalists for Awards: The Anchor

Your daily briefing on what’s going on with Vanderbilt Athletics.

Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) celebrates a three point shot against Illinois during the second half of a second round NCAA college basketball tournament game at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, March 23, 2026. | ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Vanderbilt women’s basketball has two of its leaders up for national awards, per a media release Wednesday morning.

Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes was announced as a finalist for the Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year while head coach Shea Ralph was named a finalist for the 2026 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year.

Both have rightfully earned their spots as finalists for the highest player and highest coaching awards in the country. Mikayla Blakes has been a superstar for her head coach, averaging over 27 points per game, including 30 points per game in conference play.

Blakes has been the engine that has made the offense go all season for Vanderbilt as she, along with Ralph, has helped lead Vanderbilt to a 29-4 record this season with an appearance in the Sweet 16.

Along with Blakes on the list of finalists are Lauren Betts of UCLA and Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong of UConn.

For Ralph, she has taken Vanderbilt to the Sweet 16 – a place the program has not been since 2009. Ralph’s vision for the program has come to life as she has taken Vanderbilt to prime relevancy in the sport in her fifth season in Nashville.

The player-coach duo of Blakes and Ralph is among the most dynamic duo in the country. The other coaches with Ralph on the finalist list are UConn’s Geno Auriemma, UCLA’s Cori Close and Texas’ Vic Schaefer.

Voting for both awards ends at 11 a.m. CT on March 30 as the winners will be announced April 1.

Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Football Season Opener

163 days

The Anchor: Thursday, March 26, 2026

• Vanderbilt track and field freshman Faith Franklin won the SEC Freshman of the Week after she won the 400 meter and 4X400 meter relays in the Commodores’ outdoor season debut.

• According to betting market Kalshi, Vanderbilt men’s basketball head coach Mark Byington has a seven percent chance of taking the North Carolina head coaching job, which is fifth-best on the list of rumored candidates.

• Heading into the third weekend of SEC play, Vanderbilt baseball enters rivalry weekend dead last in the SEC in ERA. The Commodores are allowing 5.54 earned runs per game in their first six conference games of the season. Vanderbilt takes on in-state rival Tennessee for a three-game series starting Friday night.

Wednesday’s Commodores Results

Vanderbilt lacrosse lost to Louisville 5-4.

Thursday’s Commodores Schedule

Vanderbilt track and field at the Raleigh Relays, Day 1.

Commodores Quote of The Day

"What my coaches have trained me to do is, if my first, second and third reads aren't perfect, I've still got to make a play—and in our offense, I should be able to."

Jay Cutler

We’ll Leave You With This…

This squad 🥹🤞 pic.twitter.com/Ncut734nTw

— Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) March 25, 2026

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