Pair of Vanderbilt Players Named to POY Watch List
No. 24 Vanderbilt has fielded one of the nation’s best offenses this season, which has resulted in spectacular accomplishments.
Most recently, freshman Mikayla Blakes set a new single-game SEC record with 53 points against Florida last week. She’s the only college basketball player to score 50 or more points this season and that includes the men’s side too.
The Commodores (18-5, 5-4 SEC) are No. 7 in the nation in scoring with an average of 85.3 points per game and have scored 100 or more points in six games this season.
The Coronation of the Virgin, by Annibale Carracci, 1595, 📸 by @MattPPhoto pic.twitter.com/uV67eagTzI
— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) February 3, 2025
That offensive success was recognized Monday with a pair of Vanderbilt players being named to the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Top 50 watch list.
Blakes was one of the two named to the watch list after building a resume that puts her in contention freshman of the year awards. She’s one of two freshmen in the nation to post multiple games with 30 or more points scored and ranks in the top among freshmen nationally in made 3-point field goals (t-3rd, 53), steals (3rd; 55), steals per game (4th, 2.47), and free throw percentage (4th, 86.2 percent).
Vanderbilt sophomore Khamil Pierre is the other Commodore named to the watch list after averaging a double-double this season. She’s averaging 21 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game this season – the only player in the country to achieve that feat.
👀 Out for @mikaylablakes & @KhamilPierre!!!
— Vanderbilt WBB (No. 24) (@VandyWBB) February 3, 2025
The Nation’s Best Duo has been named to the @USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year Award Midseason Top 50 Watch List
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The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is presented annually to the women’s national player of the year by the USBWA. Named for the legendary UCLA guard, the award was first presented in the 1987-88 season and formally named in Meyers Drysdale’s honor in the 2011-12 season. Ann Meyers Drysdale played at UCLA from 1974-78, which pre-dates the USBWA All-America selections. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
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