In hindsight, Vanderbilt’s perfect record was always going to end like this. The Commodores are building something, and that takes time. To go from last season’s 22-11 record to a perfect 20-0 start is a massive jump. To do that and then continue an undefeated season in the gauntlet that is the SEC would be nearly impossible.
So when the No. 5 Commodores lost to No. 2 South Carolina 103-74 on Sunday, it wasn’t a failure. It was another stepping stone. An opportunity to look at the Gamecocks and see what they can become.
This Vandy team has already raised the standard. Being recognized alongside UConn as one of the last two undefeated teams in the country is quite the feat. Vandy coach Shea Ralph would know. She played at UConn, winning a national title in 2000, before going on to win six more as an assistant on Geno Auriemma’s staff.
During her time as an assistant, the questions came: Would she leave to head up her own program? Or would she wait and become Auriemma’s successor when he eventually retired?
In April of 2021, Ralph made her choice, taking over a Vandy program that had gone 46-83 since 2016. Things started slowly, as Vandy finished 16-19 and 12-19 in her first two seasons. Then, the Commodores broke through for their first NCAA tournament appearance during the 2023-23 season, exiting in the first round.
It’s not easy to forge your own path in today’s college basketball. Those trying to build programs often have one good season and then lose their best talent to other teams. Ralph is clearly a talented coach, but she also got lucky. She found a star player who doubles as a trail blazer.
Mikayla Blakes was the No. 8 recruit in the class of 2024, the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American. She had her pick of schools, but whittled down her final list to an unusual group: Indiana, UCLA, Stanford, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Rutgers.
Blakes made one thing clear: She wanted a program that needed her. One where she could leave her mark. UCLA was on the cusp, making its first Final Four during Blakes’ freshman year at Vandy. Stanford had been a national power, but the transfer era and the retirement of Tara VanDerveer had left the Cardinal seeking a fresh start. Tennessee was a historic program crafting a new identity. Same with Rutgers. And Wisconsin and Indiana hadn’t done much of anything. Neither had Vanderbilt.
The Commodores made it to their lone Final Four in 1993, and when Blakes signed, they hadn’t played in an NCAA tournament since 2014.
But it didn’t matter.
It didn’t matter to her that she was the highest-ranked recruit Ralph had signed. Or that the Commodores had just recorded their first winning season since 2015-16. What mattered to Blakes were the possibilities.
A 4.0 student at Rutgers Prep, Blakes wanted to be challenged academically. She also wanted the option to pursue a medical career. Vanderbilt gives her both.
And as a basketball player it gives her something that places like UConn or South Carolina couldn’t: The opportunity to not just be part of something, but the start of something. She and Ralph are doing that together.
When you come in at the start, things aren’t so polished. There will be high points – like 20-0 starts. And there will be low points – like blowout losses to South Carolina. But those things work together to create consistency. And when you’re building something, that’s the whole point.