Lanier, Zeigler Among 30 on Naismith Trophy Midseason Team

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Two University of Tennessee men's basketball players are on the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team, as announced Friday afternoon by Atlanta Tipoff Club/Naismith Awards.

Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier and senior guard Zakai Zeigler are both included in the elite 30-player list. They form one of just five teammate duos, alongside pairs from Gonzaga (Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard), Iowa State (Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones), Purdue (Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith) and Rutgers (Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper).

Lanier and Zeigler were both on the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List and the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List, with Lanier making the cutdown to the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List. Meanwhile, Zeigler and senior guard Jahmai Mashack are among 15 players on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Lanier is averaging 17.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game in his lone season at Tennessee. He is shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range, third-best in the SEC, and owns 84 total long-range makes with an average of 3.36 per game, both of which are top-eight nationally.

Lanier was named a Midseason Second Team All-American by The Athletic and FOX Sports, as well as a Midseason Third Team All-American by The Sporting News. He has scored double-digit points in 23 of 25 outings this year, with 17-plus in 16 and 21-plus in nine.

Zeigler is putting up 13.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game in his fourth campaign as a Volunteer. He is fourth nationally and first in the SEC in assist average, as well as No. 29 in the country and second in the conference in steals per game.

The Long Island, N.Y., native collected College Hoops Today Early Season First Team All-America honors and The Athletic Midseason All-America Honorable Mention status. He has dished out at least a half-dozen assists in 21 of his 24 appearances in 2024-25, with eight-plus in 12 and 10-plus in three.

Lanier, Zeigler and No. 5/4 Tennessee (20-5, 7-5 SEC) are back in action Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host Vanderbilt at Food City Center, live on SEC Network.

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.

NAISMITH TROPHY MIDSEASON TEAM
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Donovan Dent, New Mexico
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
P.J. Haggerty, Memphis
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Tre Johnson, Texas
Kam Jones, Marquette
Curtis Jones, Iowa State
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Alex Karaban, Connecticut
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
R.J. Luis Jr., St. John's
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Derik Queen, Maryland
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Mark Sears, Alabama
Javon Small, West Virginia
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

University of Tennessee Athletics

Lanier, Zeigler Among 30 on Naismith Trophy Midseason Team

Players Mentioned

Chaz Lanier

Jahmai Mashack

Zakai Zeigler

Related Videos