Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes was named the preseason SEC Player of the Year for the 2026-27 women’s basketball season by USA TODAY Sports Network voters. Blakes earned the honour after a sophomore campaign that saw her average 27.1 points overall and a conference-leading 30.5 points per game in SEC play, making her the first SEC player this century to score 30 points per game in conference games.
Blakes was the only player to receive unanimous selection to the USA TODAY Sports Network’s All-SEC first team following the 2025-26 season, when she also won the SEC Player of the Year award. Her scoring output set a high bar, and she enters the new season as a clear favourite to repeat those feats.
South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards and Texas forward Madison Booker also picked up Player of the Year votes, each receiving two. Like Blakes, Edwards and Booker were unanimous first-team selections. South Carolina and LSU were the only programs with multiple players named to the preseason All-SEC squads, with the Gamecocks placing three players on the first and second teams combined.
Kentucky center Clara Strack made the first team and was chosen as the preseason SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Strack ranked second in the SEC last season with 2.5 blocks per game and was the only player to receive more than one vote for the defensive award. Other players receiving single votes for Defensive Player of the Year included Mississippi State forward Madison Francis, Ole Miss guard Talaysia Cooper, LSU guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, and Booker.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was voted preseason SEC Coach of the Year as she aims to guide the Gamecocks to a sixth consecutive regular-season title. Staley has won the award seven times already, including the past three seasons from 2022 to 2024, and South Carolina was the unanimous pick to win the SEC this year.
LSU point guard Jada Williams was the leading choice for SEC Newcomer of the Year. Williams, a senior transfer from Iowa State, posted career bests last season with 15.3 points and 7.7 assists per game before moving to LSU for 2026-27.
The USA TODAY Sports Network’s SEC coverage team cast their votes from a group of 12 media members across the conference’s footprint. The preseason All-SEC first team includes Blakes and Booker in the frontcourt alongside Edwards, with guards Mikaylah Williams of LSU and Blakes rounding out the lineup. The second team features South Carolina guards Tessa Johnson and Chloe Kitts, Oklahoma’s Aaliyah Chavez, LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley, and Ole Miss’s Talaysia Cooper.
The SEC preseason poll predicts South Carolina to finish first, followed by Texas in second place. LSU and Vanderbilt are tied for third, with Kentucky fifth. The poll reflects the expectations placed on the conference’s top programs as they prepare for the upcoming season.
Blakes’s selection as preseason Player of the Year signals the league’s recognition of her scoring talent and impact on the court. Her 30.5 points per game in SEC play last season set a new standard for individual scoring in the conference this century, a feat no other player has matched. The new season will test if she can maintain that level of production and lead Vanderbilt to a strong showing in a competitive SEC.
According to Yahoo Sports.