Zeigler, Vescovi and James Claim Preseason All-SEC Honors from Coaches

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Southeastern Conference unveiled Thursday its 19th annual men’s basketball coaches’ Preseason All-SEC fi rst and second teams Thursday and three Uni-versity of Tennessee standouts made the cut.Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler form the lone teammate duo to both receive Presea-son First Team All-SEC distinction, while Josi-ah-Jordan James picked up Preseason Second Team All-SEC plaudits.Tennessee is the only school with three players among the 16 honorees. Only four oth-er schools—Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas A&M—have even two. A total of 36 dif-ferent players garnered at least one vote.A fi fth-year guard, Vescovi previously earned Preseason First Team All-SEC plaudits in the media polling, as well. The Montevideo, Uruguay, native is a two-time reigning First Team All-SEC pick who averaged 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game last year.Zeigler, a junior guard, was a Preseason Second Team All-SEC choice by the media panel. A native of Long Island, N.Y., Zeigler received Second Team All-SEC distinction in 2022-23 after putting up 10.7 points, 2.7 re-bounds, 5.4 assists and 2.0 steals per outing.A fi fth-year guard, James was one of four individuals who logged Preseason Second Team All-SEC from the coaches, but not the media. Hailing from Charleston, S.C., James is coming off a campaign in which he averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per contest despite being limited to 24 games due to injury.Season tickets for the 2023-24 campaign are sold out, but single-game tickets remain on sale at AllVols.com and fans are encouraged to click HERE to purchase their seats.To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), as well as /tennessee basketball on Facebook.Preseason All-SECFirst TeamTrevon Brazile, ArkansasJohni Broome, AuburnRiley Kugel, FloridaAntonio Reeves, Kentucky Tolu Smith, Mississippi StateSantiago Vescovi, Tennessee Zakai Zeigler, TennesseeWade Taylor IV, Texas A&M Second TeamGrant Nelson, AlabamaMark Sears, AlabamaDavonte Davis, ArkansasJustin Edwards, KentuckyMatthew Murrell, Ole MissJosiah-Jordan James, Tennessee Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M Tyrin Lawrence, Vanderbilt.