Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Zeigler, Mashack and Lanier Tabbed Finalists for CollegeInsider.com Awards
March 12, 2025 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Three members of the University of Tennessee men's basketball team are finalists for two different CollegeInsider.com individual awards, as announced Wednesday afternoon.
Chaz Lanier is a finalist for the Riley Wallace Award, given to the nation's top transfer. Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler are finalists for the Lefty Driesell Awards, which is presented to the country's premier defensive player.
Tennessee has a finalist for another CollegeInsider.com honor, with Rick Barnes among the nominees for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, as announced March 6.
A fifth-year guard from Nashville, Tenn., Lanier is averaging 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game in his first campaign as a Volunteer. He is shooting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on multiple 3-pointers in 27 of 31 appearances, with four-plus in 13 and six-plus in four.
Lanier, a The Sporting News Third Team All-American and an AP First Team All-SEC designee, is a finalist for the Jerry West Award, presented to the best shooting guard in the nation. The 6-foot-5, 207-pounder, who won SEC Newcomer of the Year, is on the Wooden Award Top 15 National Ballot.
A senior guard out of Fontana, Calif., Mashack won Field of 68 National Defensive Player of the Year distinction earlier this week. He is one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year plaudits and earned SEC All-Defensive Team recognition.
Mashack possesses a 7.1 defensive box plus-minus that ranks as the second-best at the Division I level, per College Basketball Reference. The 6-foot-4, 202-pounder has conceded just a 32.8 percent field-goal clip to opposing players, according to Synergy.
A senior guard who hails from Long Island, N.Y., Zeigler is a Lefty Driesell Award finalist for the third consecutive year. He is also a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist for the third season in a row, plus won SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive time.
Zeigler is the first four-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection in league history and ranks No. 11 all-time in the conference with 239 career steals, 58 of which are in 2024-25. The 5-foot-9, 172-pounder is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the nation's best point guard, and is on the Wooden Award Top 15 National Ballot.
Tennessee, which owns the top-ranked defense in the country according to KenPom, is one of five teams with multiple Lefty Driesell finalists. The others are Auburn, Duke, Houston and St. John's.
The Riley Wallace Award is named after the former head coach at Centenary (1976-78) and Hawaii (1987-2007). At the latter, Wallace welcomed many transfers and became the winningest coach in school history, leading the program to nine postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament bids.
Last season, Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht won the Riley Wallace Award during a season in which he was a consensus First Team All-American and the SEC Player of the Year.
The Lefty Driesell Award is named in honor of the legendary coach who spent over four decades as a head coach, winning 786 games in 41 years at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State. His teams at each stop were known for playing tenacious defense.
The recipients of both annual awards are determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com. The winners will be announced in April in San Antonio, Texas, the site of the Final Four.
Lanier, Mashack, Zeigler and No. 8/6 Tennessee (25-6, 12-6 SEC) open SEC Tournament play Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET with quarterfinal contest versus a to-be-determined opponent, live on ESPN at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
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 RILEY WALLACE AWARD FINALISTS
Miles Barnstable, St. Thomas
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State
Ryan Conwell, Xavier
Dylan Darling, Idaho State
Mark Freeman, James Madison
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
P.J. Haggerty, Memphis
Devin Haid, Central Connecticut State
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Alijah Martin, Florida
Mark Mitchell, Missouri
Jacksen Moni, North Dakota State
Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State
Malik Moore, Montana
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Dominick Nelson, Utah Valley
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Sean Pedulla, Ole Miss
Kadary Richmond, St. John's
Javon Small, West Virginia
Jamichael Stillwell, Milwaukee
Bennett Stirtz, Drake
John Tonje, Wisconsin
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Milos Uzan, Houston
Teddy Washington Jr., Southeast Missouri State
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Kam Woods, Robert Morris
2024-25 LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD FINALISTS
Jadin Akins, Michigan State
Zack Austin, Pittsburgh
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
T.J. Bamba, Oregon
Luke Bamgboye, VCU
Jared Billups, George Mason
Johni Broome, Auburn
Alex Condon, Florida
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Hayden Gray, UC San Diego
Magoon Gwath, San Diego State
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Sion James, Duke
Kobe Johnson, UCLA
Denver Jones, Auburn
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Jahmai Mashack, Tennessee
Bez Mbeng, Yale
Stevie Mitchell, Marquette
Micah Peavy, Georgetown
Kadary Richmond, St. John's
J'Wan Roberts, Sr. Houston
Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Devion Smith, St. John's
Joseph Tugler, Houston
Amari Williams, Kentucky
Malcolm Wilson, Queens
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Chaz Lanier is a finalist for the Riley Wallace Award, given to the nation's top transfer. Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler are finalists for the Lefty Driesell Awards, which is presented to the country's premier defensive player.
Tennessee has a finalist for another CollegeInsider.com honor, with Rick Barnes among the nominees for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, as announced March 6.
A fifth-year guard from Nashville, Tenn., Lanier is averaging 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game in his first campaign as a Volunteer. He is shooting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on multiple 3-pointers in 27 of 31 appearances, with four-plus in 13 and six-plus in four.
Lanier, a The Sporting News Third Team All-American and an AP First Team All-SEC designee, is a finalist for the Jerry West Award, presented to the best shooting guard in the nation. The 6-foot-5, 207-pounder, who won SEC Newcomer of the Year, is on the Wooden Award Top 15 National Ballot.
A senior guard out of Fontana, Calif., Mashack won Field of 68 National Defensive Player of the Year distinction earlier this week. He is one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year plaudits and earned SEC All-Defensive Team recognition.
Mashack possesses a 7.1 defensive box plus-minus that ranks as the second-best at the Division I level, per College Basketball Reference. The 6-foot-4, 202-pounder has conceded just a 32.8 percent field-goal clip to opposing players, according to Synergy.
A senior guard who hails from Long Island, N.Y., Zeigler is a Lefty Driesell Award finalist for the third consecutive year. He is also a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist for the third season in a row, plus won SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive time.
Zeigler is the first four-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection in league history and ranks No. 11 all-time in the conference with 239 career steals, 58 of which are in 2024-25. The 5-foot-9, 172-pounder is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the nation's best point guard, and is on the Wooden Award Top 15 National Ballot.
Tennessee, which owns the top-ranked defense in the country according to KenPom, is one of five teams with multiple Lefty Driesell finalists. The others are Auburn, Duke, Houston and St. John's.
The Riley Wallace Award is named after the former head coach at Centenary (1976-78) and Hawaii (1987-2007). At the latter, Wallace welcomed many transfers and became the winningest coach in school history, leading the program to nine postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament bids.
Last season, Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht won the Riley Wallace Award during a season in which he was a consensus First Team All-American and the SEC Player of the Year.
The Lefty Driesell Award is named in honor of the legendary coach who spent over four decades as a head coach, winning 786 games in 41 years at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State. His teams at each stop were known for playing tenacious defense.
The recipients of both annual awards are determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com. The winners will be announced in April in San Antonio, Texas, the site of the Final Four.
Lanier, Mashack, Zeigler and No. 8/6 Tennessee (25-6, 12-6 SEC) open SEC Tournament play Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET with quarterfinal contest versus a to-be-determined opponent, live on ESPN at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
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 RILEY WALLACE AWARD FINALISTS
Miles Barnstable, St. Thomas
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State
Ryan Conwell, Xavier
Dylan Darling, Idaho State
Mark Freeman, James Madison
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
P.J. Haggerty, Memphis
Devin Haid, Central Connecticut State
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Alijah Martin, Florida
Mark Mitchell, Missouri
Jacksen Moni, North Dakota State
Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State
Malik Moore, Montana
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Dominick Nelson, Utah Valley
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Sean Pedulla, Ole Miss
Kadary Richmond, St. John's
Javon Small, West Virginia
Jamichael Stillwell, Milwaukee
Bennett Stirtz, Drake
John Tonje, Wisconsin
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Milos Uzan, Houston
Teddy Washington Jr., Southeast Missouri State
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Kam Woods, Robert Morris
2024-25 LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD FINALISTS
Jadin Akins, Michigan State
Zack Austin, Pittsburgh
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
T.J. Bamba, Oregon
Luke Bamgboye, VCU
Jared Billups, George Mason
Johni Broome, Auburn
Alex Condon, Florida
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Hayden Gray, UC San Diego
Magoon Gwath, San Diego State
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Sion James, Duke
Kobe Johnson, UCLA
Denver Jones, Auburn
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Jahmai Mashack, Tennessee
Bez Mbeng, Yale
Stevie Mitchell, Marquette
Micah Peavy, Georgetown
Kadary Richmond, St. John's
J'Wan Roberts, Sr. Houston
Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Devion Smith, St. John's
Joseph Tugler, Houston
Amari Williams, Kentucky
Malcolm Wilson, Queens
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
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