Mikayla Blakes ’24 Wins Gold Medal, MVP Honors in USA Basketball Debut

Talk about making an entrance! 🇺🇸🥇 In her debut with USA Basketball, Mikayla Blakes ’24 led the United States to a gold medal victory over Brazil, 92-84, at the 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup in Santiago, Chile. 

Blakes scored 27 points and grabbed six rebounds in a dominant performance in the championship game, earning her the AmeriCup Most Valuable Player award and a spot on the “All-Star 5,” which recognizes the top five players in the tournament. She led Team USA in scoring, averaging 14 points per game, while also contributing 3.4 rebounds and 2 steals.

This standout AmeriCup performance is just the latest highlight in the year since Mikayla graduated from Rutgers Prep. In her first season at Vanderbilt, Mikayla led all NCAA freshmen in scoring while earning both All-American and SEC Freshman of the Year honors. She set Division I and SEC single-game scoring records with two separate 50-point games. Mikayla also captured national media attention when she and her brother Jaylen Blakes each hit game-winning buzzer-beaters on back-to-back days and were featured on "NBC Nightly News."

Mikayla's first season at Vanderbilt was so good, in fact, that it earned her the 2024–25 Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year award, given by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to the nation’s top first-year women’s basketball player. She was the first Vanderbilt player to earn the honor.

Way to go, Mikayla! We can't wait to see what next season brings!

Watch Highlights from the Game: