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Zakai Zeigler refuses to give up on his extra year of Tennessee Vols eligibility

ZZ won't go down without a fight.
ByBraulio Perez|
Mar 30, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler (5) shoots the ball against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the Midwest Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
Mar 30, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler (5) shoots the ball against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the Midwest Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

The door is not fully closed on Zakai Zeigler playing one more season with the Tennessee basketball team. Last week, it seemed like that door indeed was going to be shut, as Zeigler got some bad news in his legal pursuit for an extra year of eligibility.

A minor setback for a major comeback is how the veteran guard is looking at things. According to multiple reports, Zeigler is going to be appealing the decision after a Tennessee court denied his motion for a preliminary injunction. Just like that, there's once again some hope that Zeigler will don a Tennessee jersey in 2025-26:

Point guard Zakai Zeigler will continue to fight for an extra year of Tennessee eligibility

This is a curveball that not a lot of us were expecting. After news broke last week that Zeigler wasn't going to be given his fifth year, he seemingly posted a goodbye to Tennessee fans on social media, giving Kentucky the middle finger in the process.

It was a brilliant way to go out in style. However, Zeigler isn't ready to take no for an answer just yet. There are still some hurdles in the way of him getting a positive update, but only time will tell if the NCAA ends up granting him what he wants - which is of course to keep playing for Rick Barnes.

Zeigler has meant so much to the program over the past four years. In 2024-25, he played a huge role in Tennessee not only reaching the SEC Tournament title game (the team lost to Florida), but also recording a memorable run in the NCAA Tournament and a trip to the Elite Eight.

All signs were pointing to him being done with the Vols. Plenty of people were overcome with emotion when Zeigler and Barnes were both in tears while embracing one another during Senior Night. As it turns out, however, we may end up seeing one more season of Zeigler running the offense after all. Again, there are hurdles in the way, but Zeigler is going to do everything he can to try to return to Knoxville for one last dance.

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