Not long ago, a lot of us out there were given hope that maybe, just maybe Tennessee basketball standout Zakai Zeigler would be back for a fifth and final season with the Vols. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, it doesn't look like that's going to happen.
On Thursday morning, breaking news has come in via Ross Dellenger that a court in Tennessee has denied Zeigler's preliminary injunction. Zeigler indeed took legal action to try and capture his fifth season of eligibility. However, this latest update is not what anyone wanted to see:
This is the big one: A Tennessee court denies a preliminary injunction in the eligibility case brought by Tennessee basketball player Zakai Zeigler. pic.twitter.com/2Cr3xqvMci
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 12, 2025
Tennessee star Zakai Zeigler had his preliminary injunction for a 5th season denied
This is such a bummer on many different levels. What's next for Zeigler? His options are limited at this point and it seems like the Vols and Rick Barnes are going to have to move forward without the elite playmaker taking the hardwood with the team.
From the moment Zeigler made the move from New York to Tennessee, he's been a joy to watch. This past season, he was a major reason why UT reached the Elite Eight and flirted with a trip to the Final Four, which would have been the first time in program history the Vols would have reached that stage.
Unfortunately, a loss to Houston was posted. After that loss, Zeigler apologized to Barnes, but the Vols head coach wasn't having any of that. Zeigler was brilliant with the Vols, which included him winning back-to-back SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Plenty of eyebrows were raised when it was first reported that Zeigler was pushing for his additional year, with excitement growing around Knoxville. Getting ZZ back to push for a trip to the Final Four next campaign would have been awesome. However, it just doesn't look like things are going to go down for him the way he wanted them to.