The Tennessee Volunteers basketball program suffered a significant setback on June 12, 2025, when a federal judge denied star point guard Zakai Zeigler’s request for a preliminary injunction to gain a fifth year of NCAA eligibility. This ruling, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Katherine A. Crytzer in Knoxville, has ended Zeigler’s hopes of returning to the Volunteers for the 2025-26 season, closing a storied chapter for one of Tennessee’s most celebrated players.
Zeigler, a two-time SEC Defen
sive Player of the Year and Third-Team All-American, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on May 20, 2025, challenging the organization’s rule that limits athletes to four seasons of competition within a five-year eligibility window. Represented by Litson PLLC and the Garza Law Firm, Zeigler argued that this restriction constituted an unlawful restraint of trade under federal and Tennessee antitrust laws, particularly in the context of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) earnings. His legal team estimated that a fifth season could have netted Zeigler between $2 million and $4 million in NIL compensation, significantly more than the $500,000 he earned in his senior year, citing projections from Tennessee’s NIL collective, Spyre Sports Group.
The lawsuit highlighted that Zeigler’s class was the first in the NIL era not to receive an extra year of eligibility, a benefit granted to athletes from 2016 to 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zeigler’s attorneys also leveraged Tennessee’s Senate Bill 536, which allows state universities and athletes to bypass NCAA rules deemed to violate antitrust laws. However, Judge Crytzer rejected these arguments, stating that Zeigler failed to provide sufficient evidence that the NCAA’s Four-Seasons Rule produces “substantial anticompetitive effects” in the market for student-athlete services and NIL compensation. She emphasized that the court’s role is to interpret law, not set policy, and noted that granting the injunction could disrupt roster spots for current and incoming players.
Zeigler’s impact on Tennessee basketball was profound. Over four seasons, he appeared in 138 games, starting 83, and set program records for career assists (747) and steals (251). In his final season, he averaged 13.6 points, 7.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, leading the Volunteers to their second consecutive Elite Eight appearance. His leadership and playmaking were central to Tennessee’s success, making the denial of his injunction a significant loss for the program and its fans, who had hoped for one more season with the dynamic guard.
Despite the ruling, Zeigler’s legal team remains undeterred, describing it as “the first chapter” of a broader challenge and vowing to explore further legal avenues. However, with Tennessee already signing Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie to fill the point guard role, the program must now move forward without Zeigler. His departure marks the end of an era, but his legacy as one of Tennessee’s greatest guards endures.
