“She’s the best player in the country,” were the exact words of Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Shea Ralph after the Kentucky game for her star player Mikayla Blakes. And yet again on Thursday, Blakes proved that her coach was right, scoring 34 points in her team’s 86-70 blowout against the red-hot No. 4 Texas Longhorns, to place herself in the elite company of veterans Caitlin Clark and JuJu Watkins.

Blakes’ outing against the Longhorns marked her second 30+ point performance this season against a top-5 team. She accomplished it against No. 5 LSU Tigers too last month, scoring 32 points, making her the only player after Watkins and Clark to have multiple 30+ performances against such teams this season.

That wasn’t all, though. From a broader perspective, she is the first player in the last 25 years of SEC Play history to score 4 consecutive 30-point games, ESPN’s Alexa Phillipou reported.

In total, the Vanderbilt guard has nine 30+ point games in her sophomore season. But for Blakes, the accolades, laurels, Clark, and Watkins’ records don’t matter. She is just emphasizing doing what is needed of her from the team’s perspective and guiding her team to victory.

“I mean, I don’t know how I make it look so easy, but I think I just can’t be denied the ball,” Blakes said in a post-game press conference. “I need to do whatever my team needs me to do, whether it’s shoot the ball or play defensive charges, get them the ball as well. That’s the main thing, and my teammates are really good, and are really hard to stop all of us.”

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In the Texas game, Blakes quietly proved why she is such a top two-way player. In a game that was supposed to be a back-and-forth game, her performance tilted the game completely in Vanderbilt’s favor.

The sophomore guard showcased a decent shooting display, hitting 9 of 19 from open play and 3 of 6 from the perimeter, along with 3 defensive rebounds. Statistically, she alone accounted for nearly 40% of the team’s points in the game. It validates why she isn’t just chasing records, but rather chasing the victories, putting her in the same stature as Clark and Watkins.

In recent years, Clark and Watkins have truly been two stalwarts of NCAA basketball for IOWA and USC, respectively. Be it scoring or overall court presence, they have stood out immensely, along with the likes of Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese. Blakesstill has a long way to go to reach that level. But with these record-breaking performances, it’s not wrong to say she’s slowly striding towards greatness.

With the victory over the Longhorns, the Vanderbilt Commodores are 24-2 and 10-2 in the season. They are in a comfortable spot to make it to March Madness this season. However, for it to happen, head coach Ralph will need her trump card, Mikayla Blakes, to continue her performance on the same level and intensity.

Vanderbilt Head Coach Shea Ralph Makes a Bold Claim for Mikayla Blakes

Shea Ralph has never shied away from praising Mikayla Blakes in her statements, be it her Kentucky performance or candidacy for the Naismith National Player of the Year Award, Ralph is the first to hype Blakes. When Ralph was asked about Blakes’ opportunity to win the National Player of the Year award this season after the Texas game, she was straight to the point.

“Prove me wrong,” Ralph said following the Texas game. “If that’s not the SEC Player of the Year and the National Player of the Year, and (Aubrey Galvan) isn’t freshman of the year.”

Blakes’ numbers this season back up Ralph’s statements immediately. The Vanderbilt guard currently tops the country in points, averaging 25.9 points per game, even better than the likes of Audi Crooks and Hannah Hidalgo. Thus, it’s hard to argue that Blake isn’t a top prospect for the National Player of the Year, and so is the situation with Aubrey Galvan, who is averaging 12.6 points and leading her team in assists (6.0) in her freshman season.

There is no doubt that Blakes will be one of the top WNBA prospects in the upcoming years. But with the form her team is in this season, Mikayla Blakes has an opportunity to achieve a feat neither Caitlin Clark nor JuJu Watkins accomplished in their careers: reaching the National Championships. But for now, they have three ranked games in their upcoming four-game stretch.

While unranked Georgia follows next, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 22 Alabama, and No. 23 Tennessee follow suit. Can Mikayla Blakes lead her side to more victories just like the Texas game? Do let us know in the comments.