KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team garnered The Sporting News Third Team All-America status, as announced Wednesday morning.
The Sporting News All-Americans are one of four groups—the others are from the Associated Press, NABC and USBWA—formally recognized by the NCAA that also, in aggregate, determine the consensus All-Americans. It is the first of that quartet to release its selections.
Lanier and Zeigler from the only teammate duo on the list. They are the second pair of Tennessee teammates to collect All-America honors in the same season, joining Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King (1975-76 and 1976-77).
In addition, Lanier and Zeigler are now the 27th and 28th official All-Americans in program history.
A fifth-year guard, Lanier averaged 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game during the regular season. He shot 40.5 percent from 3-point range on 8.35 attempts per game, making him one of just three qualified Division I players—he is the only one in a Power Five league—to shoot over 40 percent from deep on at least eight tries per contest.
In his first season as a Volunteer after transferring in from North Florida, Lanier ranks top-10 in the country in both total made 3-pointers (105) and made 3-pointers per game (3.39). The AP First Team All-SEC designee is also third in the SEC in both 3-point percentage and made field goals (197), as well as fifth in scoring average.
The 6-foot-5, 207-pounder from Nashville, Tenn., is the fourth transfer to receive All-America designation, following Danny Schultz (1963-64), Austin “Red” Robbins (1965-66) and Dalton Knecht (2023-24). Only Lanier and Knecht, who have claimed the recognition in back-to-back years, joined the Volunteers from another Division I school, as Schultz and Robbins came from junior college.
Zeigler is a senior guard who ranks first in program history in steals (239) and second in assists (696), numbers that put him No. 11 and fourth, respectively, in SEC history. His 224 assists this year are four away from breaking the single-season program record and seven shy of a top-10 spot on the SEC’s list.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., Zeigler posted 13.1 points, 7.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game during the regular season. He repeated as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and as a First Team All-SEC honoree.
Zeigler is on the Wooden Award Top 15 National Ballot, alongside Lanier. He is also, for the third season in a row, among 15 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List selections, alongside senior guard Jamai Mashack. The 5-foot-9, 172-pounder ranks fifth in the nation in assist average, tallying at least six in 25 of 30 outings, with eight-plus in half of them and double digits in four.
Lanier, Zeigler and No. 8/6 Tennessee (25-6, 12-6 SEC) open postseason action Friday at 3:30 p.m. in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., versus a to-be-determined foe, live on ESPN.
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 THE SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICANS
FIRST TEAM
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
SECOND TEAM
Eric Dixon, Villanova
P.J. Haggerty, Memphis
Kam Jones, Marquette
John Tonje, Wisconsin
J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech
THIRD TEAM
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
R.J. Luis Jr., St. John’s
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
