No. 12 Tennessee will open its 2024-25 regular season Nov. 4 against Gardner-Webb. The Vols will defend their SEC regular-season championship this season.

During the preseason, Vols Wire previews student-athletes on Tennessee’s 2024-25 men’s basketball roster. This installment will feature senior guard Zakai Zeigler.

As a freshman, the Long Island, New York native averaged 8.8 points, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He also averaged 10.0 points per game in SEC play.

During his sophomore season, he led the SEC in assists (161, 5.4 per game) before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Zeigler became the first Tennessee player to lead the SEC in assists since C.J. Watson in 2004-05.

As a junior, Zeigler was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Second-Team All-SEC by the Associated Press and was a first-team selection by the coaches.

He appeared in 36 games, including 30 starts, last season. Zeigler averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Zakai Zeigler returns for senior season with Tennessee basketball