Vanderbilt sophomore Mikayla Blakes takes a shot against Kentucky on Feb. 22, 2026.
Alan Poizner/For The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Mikayla Blakes took in the scene of the 2022 men’s Final Four inside the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. She was there for her older brother, Jaylen, then a freshman at Duke.
Blakes had been along for his team’s journey to college basketball’s biggest stage. She witnessed the adversity, the struggles and the thrill of triumph. And the way the stadium buzzed with excitement and nerves on that April day lit a fire within the younger Blakes.
