Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner named AP preseason All-American; Mikayla Blakes tabbed SEC Preseason Player of the Year
Galvan and Woolfolk also earn preseason All-SEC honors as Vanderbilt women are picked third in the SEC.
NASHVILLE - Vanderbilt men's basketball guard Tyler Tanner was named a preseason All-American by The Associated Press on Wednesday, and SEC coaches picked women's basketball junior Mikayla Blakes as the league's Preseason Player of the Year, according to two Vanderbilt Athletics releases.
Tanner, a Brentwood native, was the third-leading vote-getter on the 58-member AP panel with 43 votes. He averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals last season and set Vanderbilt single-season records for assists (184) and steals (86). The No. 24 Commodores open Nov. 2 against Bellarmine at Memorial Gymnasium.
Blakes, a unanimous preseason All-SEC first-team pick, earned her third SEC Preseason Player of the Year honor, the release says. Aubrey Galvan also made the first team and Mia Woolfolk the second team. The Commodores were picked third in the SEC coaches' poll, tied with LSU, behind South Carolina and Texas.
The Vanderbilt women open Nov. 2 at 11 a.m. CT against Lipscomb at Memorial Gymnasium.
Source: Vanderbilt Athletics, men's and women's basketball releases, Oct. 21, 2026 (https://vucommodores.com/news/2026/10/21/tanner-named-ap-preseason-all-american; https://vucommodores.com/news/2026/10/21/sec-coaches-tab-blakes-preseason-player-of-the-year).