KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee men’s basketball standout Zakai Zeigler is among the selections for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 Watch List, as revealed Monday afternoon by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The annual Bob Cousy Award, named after the Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard, celebrates its 22nd year by highlighting the top point guard in Division I men’s college basketball.
A senior guard from Long Island, N.Y., Zeigler is among the 10 midseason selections for the second consecutive year. He is the only player who made the list in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Zeigler is averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, an SEC-best 7.4 assists and a team-leading 2.1 steals per game this season for fourth-ranked Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC). A John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List selection, Zeigler owns 15 outings with seven-plus assists on the year, fourth-most in Division I.
The 5-foot-9, 172-pounder ranks fifth nationally in assists average, as well as top-40 in steals average. Zeigler, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, is one of two players in history, alongside Arkansas’ Kareem Reid (1995-99), to record 1,300 points, 600 assists and 200 steals at an SEC school.
Fan Voting for the Cousy Award will begin Feb. 7 on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
In March, the top 10 will be narrowed to just five finalists. Then, in late March, those five will be presented to Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, at which time winners will be selected. The Selection Committee for the Bob Cousy Awards is composed of top men’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2025 Bob Cousy Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the four other members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Last year, for the first time, a Volunteer took home one of the Starting Five honors, as Dalton Knecht claimed the Julius Erving Award.
For more information on the 2025 Bob Cousy Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com, as well as follow @hoophallu and #CousyAward on X/Twitter and Instagram.
Zeigler and the Volunteers are back in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they wrap up a three-game home stand versus No. 15/16 Missouri, live on SEC Network from Food City Center.
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.
Bob Cousy Award Midseason Top 10 Watch List
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Mark Sears, Alabama
Javon Small, West Virginia
Braden Smith, Purdue
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
