KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee men’s basketball standout Zakai Zeigler is a Blue Ribbon Yearbook Preseason Second Team All-American, as announced Tuesday afternoon.

This is the first formal preseason All-America team released in advance of the upcoming 2024-25 season.

Zeigler, a senior guard, was a First Team All-SEC designee and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24. He has twice been one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

A native of Long Island, N.Y., Zeigler averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game during a stellar 2023-24 campaign during which he shot 34.4 percent from deep. After playing in a reserve role the first six games of the year, as he fully recovered from a season-ending left knee injury in 2022-23, he averaged 13.3 points, 6.7 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals across his 30 starts as a junior, posting a 36.4 percent 3-point clip during that stretch.

The two-time reigning SEC assists leader, Zeigler is one of four three-time All-SEC Defensive Team selections in league history. He owns the Tennessee record for career assists in NCAA Tournament play (38) and was a member of the 2024 NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament Team after leading the Volunteers to the Elite Eight.

Zeigler is one of four SEC players who made the Blue Ribbon Yearbook cut, joining Alabama’s Mark Sears (first team), Auburn’s Johni Broome (second team) and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV (second team).

For news and information about 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 BLUE RIBBON YEARBOOK PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

First Team
R.J. Davis, North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Alex Karaban, Connecticut
Caleb Love, Arizona
Mark Sears, Alabama

Second Team
Johni Broome, Auburn
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Braden Smith, Purdue
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

Third Team
Robbie Avila, Saint Louis
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
J’Wan Roberts, Houston

Fourth Team
Oumar Ballo, Indiana
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Axel Lendeborg, UAB
Great Osobor, Washington
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest