The WNBA has exploded as the fastest-growing professional sports league in the United States. Unfortunately, the status of the 2026 season remains up in the air, as the league and the players’ association remain deadlocked in negotiations over a new labor deal.
The league has made it clear that if an agreement between the sides can’t be reached by March 11, the start of the regular season will be impacted. However, it’s all smooth sailing for women’s basketball and the collegiate level, and one star is making her case for National Player of the Year, and it’s a strong one.
The UConn Huskies and South Carolina Gamecocks are still the dominant forces in women’s college basketball, but current Indiana Fever standout Caitlin Clark showed the world that all it takes is one dynamic talent to propel a program into the national conversation when she led the Iowa Hawkeyes to back-to-back Final Fours.
Now, Vanderbilt Commodores standout guard Mikayla Blakes is looking to do the same.
“It’s a lot easier to go to, I think, top programs and just win,” Blakes said back in January after leading the No. 12-ranked Commodores over the No. 5 LSU Tigers. “I wanted to do the uncommon thing.”
Blakes’ play this year has been anything but common.
The standout has led the Commodores to a No. 5 ranking in the AP Poll as the end of their regular season approaches. In Vanderbilt’s penultimate game of the campaign against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Blakes shut the book on what should now be a no-brainer decision on National Player of the Year.
Blakes scored 35 in the win, raising her nation-leading scoring average to just under 27 points a game. It wasn’t just Blakes’ scoring prowess on display though, she also showed her tenacity on the other end of the floor with four steals in the game.
She also joined Clark is some rare company with her performance in the win.
Mikayla Blakes enters elite company alongside Caitlin Clark 🤝 pic.twitter.com/fKJYGjSdkn
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 27, 2026
In an award that should be about impact more than popularity, Blakes is showing that hers is louder than anyone else’s in the country. UConn’s Azzi Fudd is also having a phenomenal season, and is leading the Huskies to, what will in all liklihood will, be the number one overall seed in the tournament, but this should be an individual award, and Fudd is averaging less than Blakes in points, rebounds, and assists.
UConn’s Sarah Strong is also in the conversation, but the reality is that Fudd makes things a lot easier for Strong.
Fans around the country are starting to realize that Blakes is the only right decision.
Mikayla Blakes has officially done enough that we can push robbery narratives if she dont win NPOY
— Future Of The Retro (@TraeK_) February 27, 2026
The real question is if voters realize it, too.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.