KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Three members of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team collected All-SEC honors from the league’s head coaches, as announced Monday afternoon by the conference office.

For the second consecutive season, Zakai Zeigler earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team status. Chaz Lanier received SEC Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-SEC plaudits, while Jahmai Mashack garnered SEC All-Defensive Team recognition.

Zeigler is the first player in conference history to collect four SEC All-Defensive Team distinctions, while just three others have even three. Tennessee also has the only four-time First Team All-SEC designees ever in Ernie Grunfeld and Allan Houston.

A senior guard, Zeigler is the third multiple-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, joining Texas A&M’s Robert Williams (2016-17 and 2017-18) and Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10). Only Zeigler and Varnado have won the award outright on multiple occasions, as Williams shared his second one. Tennessee is just the second school—Yves Pons notched the award in 2019-20—with at least three SEC Defensive Player of the Year wins, joining Kentucky (six).

This is the third All-SEC accolade of Zeigler’s career, as he was a second-teamer in 2021-22 before his back-to-back first-team nods. The Long Island, N.Y., native is the 21st Volunteer to tally three All-SEC designations, as well as the 27th with multiple First Team All-SEC plaudits (any official outlet). He is one of 14 players in both groups, alongside Dale Ellis, Ernie Grunfeld, Allan Houston, Gilbert Huffman, Reggie Johnson, Bill Justus, Bernard King, Len Kosmalski, Chris Lofton, Dyron Nix, Paul “Lefty” Walther, Tony White and Ron Widby.

Zeigler is averaging 13.1 points, 7.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game this season. He excelled in SEC-only action, notching 14.1 points, 7.0 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, while shooting 34.5 percent from 3-point range.

A 5-foot-9, 172-pounder, Zeigler scored double-digit points in 24 of 30 regular season contests, with 13-plus in 18 of them, 16-plus in 12 and 20-plus in two. The Dec. 31, 2024, AP National Player of the Week dished out at least six assists in 25 appearances, with eight-plus in 15, 10-plus in four and a career-high 15 in two.

Zeigler, who ranks fifth in Division I in assists average, is one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award and was named an All-America Honorable Mention by College Hoops Today. He is on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team, the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List and, for the third year in a row, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.

Lanier is the first player in league history to win the inaugural SEC Newcomer of the Year award, given to a transfer student-athlete who has not previously competed in SEC action.

A fifth-year guard in his first campaign as a Volunteer after transferring in from North Florida, Lanier averaged 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game during the regular season. He shot a blistering 40.5 percent from 3-point range despite taking 8.35 attempts per contest.
Lanier is top-10 in the country in both total made 3-pointers (105) and made 3-pointers per game (3.39), plus third in the SEC in 3-point percentage and made field goals (197). He also finished the regular season fifth in the league in scoring average.

A Nashville, Tenn., native, Lanier has scored in double figures in all but two of his 31 outings, with 17-plus points in 20 of them, 21-plus in 12 and 25-plus in four. He has connected on at least three 3-pointers 21 times, making five-plus eight times and seven-plus twice.

Lanier is a Field of 68 Second Team All-American and College Hoops Today Third Team All-American, as well as a finalist for the Jerry West Award. The 6-foot-5, 207-pounder is also a member of the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List, the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team and the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List.

Mashack is the sixth Volunteer—11th total honor across nine different season—to earn SEC All-Defensive Team recognition. He follows JaJuan Smith (2007-08), Josh Richardson (2013-14 and 2014-15), Yves Pons (2019-20 and 2020-21), Zakai Zeigler (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25) and Jonas Aidoo (2023-24).

Earlier today, Mashack was tabbed the Field of 68 National Defensive Player of the Year. He is, alongside Zeigler, also one of 15 competitors on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.

Mashack, per Synergy, held opposing players to just 32.8 percent shooting in the regular season, including limiting All-SEC performers to just a 36.0 field-goal clip. The Fontana, Calif., native has 49 steals and 19 blocks on the year, notching multiple steals on 14 occasions, with four-plus four times.

No SEC player, according to Synergy, scored even eight points with Mashack as his primary defender and only one Power Six player did so all year. The 6-foot-4, 202-pounder is plus-267 during his time on the floor this season,

This is just the ninth season—10th instance—in which multiple players from the same team received SEC All-Defensive Team accolades. It is the third time a school has done it in back-to-back seasons, including the second time without both players repeating.

The other occurrences were 2023-24 Tennessee (Jonas Aidoo and Zakai Zeigler), 2019-20 Kentucky (Ashton Hagans and Nick Richards), 2013-14 Florida (Patric Young and Scottie Wilbekin), 2012-13 Florida (Patric Young and Scottie Wilbekin), 2011-12 Kentucky (Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist), 2009-10 South Carolina (Devan Downey and Sam Muldrow), 2008-09 LSU (Garrett Temple and Chris Johnson), 2008-09 South Carolina (Dominique Archey and Devan Downey), 1991-92 Alabama (Robert Horry and Latrell Sprewell) and 1990-91 LSU (Shawn Griggs and Shaquille O’Neal).

In addition, this is only the fifth time a team has had two SEC All-Defensive Team picks—Tennessee is the first to do it twice—with one winning SEC Defensive Player of the Year or Defensive MVP. The others are 2023-24 Tennessee (Zakai Zeigler), 2013-14 Florida (Patric Young), 2011-12 Kentucky (Anthony Davis) and 1990-91 LSU (Shaquille O’Neal).

Zeigler, Lanier and Mashack helped No. 8/6 Tennessee (25-6, 12-6 SEC) to the third 25-win regular season in program history. The Volunteers begin the postseason Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET against a to-be-determined opponent in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, live on ESPN from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.  

2024-25 SEC MEN’S BASKETBALL HONORS

Coach of the Year:Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Player of the Year: Johni Broome, Auburn
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, South Carolina
Newcomer of the Year: Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Freshman of the Year: Tre Johnson, Texas
Sixth Man of the Year: Caleb Grill, Missouri
Defensive Player of the Year: Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

FIRST TEAM
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Mark Sears, Alabama
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

SECOND TEAM
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Tre Johnson, Texas
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
Otega Oweh, Kentucky

THIRD TEAM
Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn
Alex Condon, Florida
Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt
Mark Mitchell, Missouri
Sean Pedulla, Ole Miss

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Denver Jones, Auburn
Jahmai Mashack, Tennessee
Cameron Matthews, Mississippi State
Anthony Robinson II, Missouri
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma
Tre Johnson, Texas
Asa Newell, Georgia
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Labaron Philon, Alabama