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Tennessee Freshman Zakai Zeigler Earns SEC Honors

Tennessee Vols Freshman Zakai Zeigler Earns SEC Honors

Jack Foster

The Vols' freshman point guard Zakai Zeigler has been named SEC Freshman of the Week, announced by the league on Monday afternoon. 

Zeigler becomes the second Vol to earn the honor, as fellow freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler received the SEC Freshman of the Week award on November 15 following season-opening performances against UT Martin and ETSU. 

Zeigler earns the honor after posting back-to-back double-digit efforts against Texas A&M and South Carolina in the past week. The New York product was instrumental in the Vols' ability to have a bounce-back offensive performance against the Aggies, as Zeigler scored 14 points and provided a couple of splash plays in Knoxville last Tuesday. 

Against the Gamecocks, the Vols secured a 21-point win on the road, the largest margin of victory Tennessee has had over a Power six opponent this season. Zeigler did not score a point in the first half, but the freshman posted 18 in the second half, ultimately tying his career-high single-game point total in just 20 minutes. Zeigler was 6-9 from the field against South Carolina, including a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. 

The freshman is averaging a whopping 13.8 points per game in his last four outings and has now posted double digits in seven of the Vols' ten conference outings. In that ten-game stretch, Zeigler is the orange and white's third-leading scorer with 9.4 points per game. 

Zeigler and the Vols stay on the road for a mid-week bout against Mississippi State on Wednesday, February 9, at 9 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will have the broadcast. 

Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics 

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Jack Foster
JACK FOSTER

Jack is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media. Jack grew up in Paris, Tennessee, but now spends the majority of his time in Knoxville doubling as a student and sports journalist for Volunteer Country. Jack has been a sports junkie since he was a young kid and always watched NFL football with his dad on Sundays. Jack still follows the NFL religiously, as he is an avid fantasy football player. Jack started with Volunteer Country in May of 2021 and has since helped provide full coverage of football, baseball and men's and women's basketball. Jack also works as a recurring member of WUTK's Rock Solid Sports show on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he also serves as head sports producer of The Volunteer Channel's Vol News, a student-run show at the University. When Jack is not watching or covering sports, find him on the golf course or back home spending time with his parents, younger sister and friends. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram by clicking "Twitter" and "Instagram" to see all of his work with Volunteer Country as well as student media.