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Zakai Zeigler makes history with 2nd SEC Defensive Player of the Year award win

Zakai Zeigler makes history with 2nd SEC Defensive Player of the Year award win

Yahoo10-03-2025
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Beloved Tennessee basketball guard Zakai Zeigler wrote his name into the Southeastern Conference history books on Monday after another stellar defensive campaign.
The SEC released the results of All-SEC voting from the league's head coaches on Monday with three Tennessee Volunteers earning conference honors. Zeigler was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year in addition to earning a spot on the All-SEC First Team and SEC All-Defensive Team.
Tennessee duo Barnes, Mashack honored for character and community service
Chaz Lanier received the inaugural SEC Newcomer of the Year award, given to a transfer student-athlete who has not previously competed in SEC action, and Second Team All-SEC plaudits. Jahmai Mashack joined Zeigler on the SEC All-Defensive Team.
Zeigler becomes the first player in conference history to earn four SEC All-Defensive Team selections. He is also the just the third player to win multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards.
The Long Island, N.Y., native averaged 14.1 points, 7.0 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game in SEC play. He ranks fifth in Division I for assists average and is one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award.
THE LATEST: University of Tennessee Basketball news
Tennessee is the second school with three SEC Defensive Player of the Year wins, second only to Kentucky with six.
The Volunteers have wrapped up the third 25-win regular season in program history and will now begin postseason play at the SEC Tournament on Friday against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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