Shea Ralph and her star point guard Mikayla Blakes haven’t hidden how they feel about one another. The pair have deftly steered the Vanderbilt Commodores to their most successful season since Ralph was named head coach ahead of the 2021-22 season; together, they’re preparing for the team’s first Sweet Sixteen of her tenure.
But their relationship is deeper than they’ve let on, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart told The IX Sports this month. Stewart has something significant in common with Ralph: they both played for the UConn Huskies (Ralph from 1996 to 2001, Stewart from 2012 to 2016), and Stewart’s time as a member of the team overlapped with Ralph’s time as an assistant coach.
While there are whispers Ralph could one day return to Conneticut, what’s obvious now is that she’s building a legacy in Nashville.
“I think what Shea is doing at Vanderbilt is no surprise,” Stewart explained. “Obviously, she’s a super competitive person, and she puts in the work as a coach and [in] really just getting the best out of her players, like she did when I was at UConn.”
Ralph’s strengths were in “constantly” challenging the team to be better, Stewart added. “And she really helped us to be as great as we wanted to be,” she said. “Coming from her being a former player, someone who’s won a National Championship, it hits a little bit differently when you’ve been through it all.”
Ralph’s 13 seasons spanned 2008 to 2021, a period of time that saw Geno Auriemma lead several rosters of players to six championships, including four back-to-back wins that began in the 2012-13 season and concluded with their 2015-16 win.
In addition to Stewart, those rosters included Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Katie Lou Samuelson, Napheesa Collier, Moriah Jefferson and Paige Bueckers. Ralph has a history of working closely with talented athletes, and that history is showing up in her present with the Commodores.
Blakes joins Vanderbilt for the 2024-25 season
Blakes signed with the Commodores ahead of the 2024-25 season and began making a name for herself almost immediately. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week seven times, was the highest scoring average among all NCAA Division I freshmen, led freshmen nationally in seven categories, was the first Commodore to be named AP Freshman of the Week and had two 50-point games. She was also named SEC Freshman of the Year, USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year, All-SEC First Team and USA Today SEC Newcomer of the Year — among other honors.
Her sophomore season with the team has been no different. Blakes was named named SEC Player of the Year and was a consensus first-team All-American this season, and she and Ralph are Naismith Award finalists.
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Ralph sees something of herself in Blakes, Stewart explained. “I’m sure that her relationship with Mikayla Blakes is obviously continuing to grow and evolve because Shea sees a little bit of herself in Mikayla,” she said, “as far as how she is as a player and how she’s continuing to grow.”
While speaking to reporters in Fort Worth on Thursday, Blakes appeared to agree. As a player, Ralph “did whatever the team needed her to do, and I feel like I kind of do that in the same way,” Blakes said. “I just don’t back down. I feel like we’re both two people who will take on the challenge.”
Blakes, who recently watched film of Ralph as a player, also noted that her coach was “a lot meaner on the court.”
Blakes added, “She’s a completely different person than she is now.”
Vanderbilt will need to get past Notre Dame
If Blakes wants a challenge, she’ll certainly get one Friday afternoon when the Commodores meet the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Blakes and Notre Dame’s own star guard, Hannah Hidalgo, have history. The pair grew up playing AAU basketball against one another, something Hidalgo reflected on Thursday.
“I feel like my earliest memory playing with Mikayla was my senior year [of high school],” Hidalgo told reporters. “It was a really big game for us. I went to Vegas Prep, and we played them [and] ended up beating them.”
Like tomorrow’s game will likely be, that AAU match “was a show,” Hidalgo added. “Two dynamic guards. I had to guard her the whole game. I think just her ability to do what she does … the things that she brings to her team is so different.”
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Hidalgo made it clear despite the hype surrounding the matchup, the focus is on the entire game. “I think this whole game is just about playing together. You know, it’s not about me versus Mikayla. It’s about Notre Dame versus Vanderbilt,” she said. “It’s really just the way that we’re going to win the game tomorrow is by playing together like we’ve been doing the past couple of months.”
The matchup was top of mind for Ralph as well, who told reporters, “I think any time you can witness high-level basketball being played, whether you’re on the court coaching it, whether you’re playing with players that are high-level players, or on a team that’s a high-level team or watching it on TV, you’re witnessing greatness, right?”
“Obviously one of the things that has helped me this year is just enjoying every moment that I get with my team,” she added. “She’s not our only great player, but watching Mikayla, coaching Mikayla, has been one of the greatest blessings of my
career.”
Blakes, Ralph added, “was built for these moments.” And, it seems, so was her coach.
Looking for more March Madness stories? Read all our NCAA Tournament coverage at The IX Sports.