KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –Zakai Zeigler of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is an Associated Press (AP) Third Team All-American, as announced Wednesday afternoon.
In addition, Chaz Lanier garnered AP All-America Honorable Mention recognition.
The AP is one of four voting bodies—the others are The Sporting News, the NABC and the USBWA—whose All-America teams are formally recognized by the NCAA that also, in aggregate, determine the consensus All-Americans. It is the second of that quartet to release its selections.
Both Zeigler and Lanier were tabbed March 12 as The Sporting News Third Team All-America selections. They are the 28th and 29th official All-Americans in Tennessee history.
Zeigler is averaging 13.8 points, 7.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. The senior guard has scored in double figures 27 times in 33 outings, with 16-plus points on 15 occasions and 20-plus in four contests.
A First Team All-SEC pick and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, both for the second season in a row, Zeigler is one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award. The 5-foot-9, 172-pounder from Long Island, N.Y., has 242 assists this year, third-most in a single campaign in SEC history and just 18 shy of the record.
Lanier, a fifth-year guard from Nashville, Tenn., owns averages of 17.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game in 2024-25. He claimed SEC Newcomer of the Year status from the league’s coaches and is a finalist for the Jerry West Award.
A 6-foot-5, 207-pounder, Lanier is shooting 40.0 percent from 3-point range on the year. He is the 16th Volunteer—25th occurrence—to record at least 600 points in a year, while his 110 made 3-pointers rank third on the program’s single-season leaderboard.
Zeigler, Lanier and sixth-ranked, second-seeded Tennessee (27-7, 12-6 SEC) start NCAA Tournament competition Thursday at 6:50 p.m. in Lexington, Ky., where they play No. 15-seeded Wofford, live on TNT from Rupp Arena.
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 ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-AMERICANS
FIRST TEAM (First-Team Votes; Points)
u-Cooper Flagg, Duke (61; 305)
u-Johni Broome, Auburn (61; 305)
Braden Smith, Purdue (44; 268)
Mark Sears, Alabama (42; 256)
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida (36; 244)
u = unanimous pick
SECOND TEAM (First-Team Votes; Points)
J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech (14; 185)
Kam Jones, Marquette (8; 160)
John Tonje, Wisconsin (7; 127)
P.J. Haggerty, Memphis (7; 118)
R.J. Luis Jr., St. John’s (6; 118)
THIRD TEAM (First-Team Votes; Points)
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (3; 117)
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee (5; 103)
Eric Dixon, Villanova (3; 86)
L.J. Cryer, Houston (4; 65)
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas (2; 51)
HONORABLE MENTIONS(alphabetical order; next 10 vote totals and ties)
Nique Clifford, Colorado State
Donovan Dent, New Mexico
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Tre Johnson, Texas
Curtis Jones, Iowa State
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Derik Queen, Maryland
Maxime Reynaud, Stanford
Javon Small, West Virginia
Bennett Stirtz, Drake
