Vanderbilt WBB Update: Commodores In Paris, Blakes Earns Team USA Spot

Mikayla Blakes, coming off the most decorated freshman season of any player in the history of Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball program, continues to add to her accolades. She was one of 12 players selected for the USA Basketball Women’s AmeriCup Team that will compete June 28-July 6 in Santiago, Chile.

As a freshman, Blakes was named the USWB Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, as well as making several All-America teams after leading the Commodores in scoring at 23.3 points per game.

This isn’t Blakes’ first time donning the red, white, and blue. She was also part of the 2024 USA Basketball Nike Hoop Summit team that defeated the World Select team 83-80.

Also making the AmeriCup team: Raegan Beers (Oklahoma), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU), Gianna Kneepkens (Utah), Olivia Miles (Notre Dame), Kennedy Smith (USC), Hannah Stuelke (Iowa), and Grace VanSlooten (Michigan State). The winner of the AmeriCup tournament will earn an automatic berth to the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Berlin next summer.

The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team is going global. The Commodores will open their season against California in the City of Light on November 3 as part of the third annual Oui-Play Paris.

The event, which takes place at Adidas Arena in Paris, will also feature a matchup between Duke and Baylor.

The showcase is a great opportunity for more exposure which excites coach Shea Ralph.

“Our program is thrilled to be opening this upcoming season in the Oui-Play showcase in Paris,” Ralph said in a school release. “We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Candice Storey Lee and our Vanderbilt administration for giving us this truly special opportunity to showcase our basketball team and university on an international stage. We are passionately continuing the work to propel Vanderbilt basketball back to national prominence.”

The team will arrive in Paris on October 30 and will depart November 4. Game times have not yet been announced, but tickets for the event are already on sale.

The SEC has announced home and away conference matchups. While the men’s schedule has 18 conference games, the women’s schedule differs in having single round robin of home or away (14 games) with one rotating opponent that will be played at home and away (2 games) – which totals only 16 conference games.

This scheduling quirk means for the second consecutive season Vandy will only play top rival Tennessee once, and the local fans will have to travel to Knoxville to see it. Kentucky is the SEC opponent the Commodores will play twice.

Home Schedule: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas

Away Schedule: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M