Family fuels Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes’ rise into Women's NCAA Tournament
Jaylen, who played college basketball at Stanford, has watched Mikayla grow into the player she is today.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes is more than just a baller. She’s also a sister.
Blakes is the kind of sister her brother, Jaylen, proudly brags about often. Jaylen, who played college basketball at Stanford, has watched her grow into the player she is today. Starting with pickup games at home in New Jersey to hitting game-winning shots on consecutive days while playing at Vanderbilt and Stanford.
He pushed her to be the best from a young age, literally. “It was very physical because I wouldn't like to be pushed around,” Jaylen said. “Besides that, he’s really like, who I look up to just training-wise and work ethic-wise.
” Mikayla is breaking away from the competition in her sophomore season, tallying new accolades often. She was named first-team All-America by the Associate Press and is the 2025-26 SEC Player of the Year. The duo reunited this season as Jaylen is home from playing professionally in Israel for Hapoel Galil Elyon while rehabbing a torn ACL in his knee.