Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes named AP preseason All-American
The junior guard is the first Commodore so honored since 2002-03; Vanderbilt opens Nov. 2 against Lipscomb.
NASHVILLE - Vanderbilt junior guard Mikayla Blakes was named an Associated Press preseason All-American on Thursday, Oct. 22, according to a Vanderbilt Athletics release. She is the first Commodore to earn the honor in 24 seasons.
Blakes joins Chantelle Anderson, who was picked in 2001-02 and 2002-03, as the only Vanderbilt players named AP preseason All-Americans, the release says. She was one of five players on the 2026-27 team.
Last season Blakes led Division I in scoring at 27.0 points per game and set the SEC single-season record with 918 points, which the release says was also an NCAA sophomore record.
With men's guard Tyler Tanner named Wednesday, Vanderbilt is the first school since Duke in 2014-15 to have a men's and a women's player on the AP preseason teams in the same season, according to the release.
The Commodores, No. 8 in the AP preseason poll, open the season at 11 a.m. Central on Monday, Nov. 2, against Lipscomb at Memorial Gymnasium.
Source: Vanderbilt Athletics, women's basketball release, Oct. 22, 2026 (https://vucommodores.com/news/2026/10/22/preseason-all-american).