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PAGE 6 July 2025 E-edition
Tennessee Men's Basketball Duo Mashack and Lanier selected in 2025 NBA Draft
Jahmai Mashack of the University of Tennessee men's basketball team went No. 59 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, picked in the second round Thursday, June 26, by the Houston Rockets, with his rights set to be dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies in a proposed trade. The final pick of the draft, on the second day of the event, Mashack was the 13th player selected from an SEC institution. The 57th player ever drafted out of Tennessee, Mashack is the third selected by Memphis. He joins Fred Jenkins (No. 129 in 1987) and Michael Brooks (No. 88 in 1985) on the latter list. Mashack is the 46th future NBA player to compete for Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes in his 38-year tenure leading a program, including the 35th draftee. Adding in his eight seasons as an assistant, Barnes has now coached 53 NBA players, 41 of whom were drafted. A total of 12 Tennessee players have now reached the NBA in Barnes' tenure, including 10 draft picks. All of them have come in the last seven years (2019-25). Mashack is the second Volunteer drafted in 2025, as fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier went No. 37 overall to the Detroit Pistons. This is the 13th time multiple Tennessee players have been selected in the same NBA Draft, including the seventh—alongside 1977, 1989, 2002, 2014, 2019 and 2021—with two in the top 60. Three of those seven years are during the Barnes era.
Also, Tennessee is one of seven schools with multiple draftees this year. The others are Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Illinois, Kentucky and Rutgers. This is the fifth consecutive year a Tennessee player has been selected in the NBA Draft. The Volunteers are one of just five teams with at least a five-year streak, alongside Baylor, Connecticut, Duke and Kentucky. Prior to this stretch, Tennessee's longest NBA Draft streak in the two- round era (since 1989) was two years, as it had two selections in 2014 and one in 2015. Prior to that, the Volunteers had a nine-year streak from 1963-71 and a seven-year count from 1979-85. In addition, this is the sixth time in the last seven years at least one Tennessee player has been picked. The Volunteers are among only four teams to have a player chosen in at least six of the last seven NBA Drafts, joining Arkansas, Duke and Kentucky. Tennessee, Duke and Kentucky are the only schools with double-digit draft choices over the last seven years. The Volunteers are the only team to achieve that feat with the same coach the entire time. A four-year contributor at Tennessee during the best stretch in the history of the program, Mashack helped the team to a 109-36 (.752) record, four NCAA Tournament appears, three Sweet 16 trips, two Elite Eight appearances, one SEC regular season title and one SEC Tournament crown.
Mashack and classmate Zakai Zeigler are tied for the most wins by a four- year player in program history. Across those four campaigns, 2021-25, Tennessee was ranked in the Associated Press Poll the entire team, placing top- 20 in 75 of 80 weeks, with 50 top-10 nods, 24 top-five positionings and five spots at No. 1 overall. As a senior in 2024- 25, Mashack started all 38 games for the Volunteers, co-setting a program single- season record. He averaged 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 45.4 percent overall and 35.1 percent from 3-point range. One of four finalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, Mashack finished with the second- best defensive box plus- minus (7.0) in the country. The 6-foot-4, 202-pound guard amassed a 6.28 mark in his career, seventh- best in Division I (min. 50 GP) in the last 15 seasons (2010-25). A native of Fontana, CA, Mashack won Field of 68 Defensive Player of the Year during his final collegiate campaign. He also made the SEC All- Defensive Team. Mashack was a two- time SEC Community Service Team selection and a University of Tennessee Torchbearer. He was one of 14 Division I player— just six came from a Power Five league—to finish the year with at least 60 steals and 20 blocks. He was just the 14th SEC player—15th occurrence—in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) to reach those marks in a single
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Former University of Tennessee standouts Jahmai Mashack (#15) and Chaz Lanier (#2) attempt to guard Vanderbilt's Devin McClockton during the Vols game against the Commodores in Nashville this past season. Both Mashack and Lanier were selected in the 2025 NBA draft.
campaign.
and 1.8 assists per game as a senior in 2023-24, shooting 44.0 percent from 3-point range to rank fifth nationally. He earned First Team All-Atlantic Sun and NABC First Team All- District 3 accolades in his final year with the Ospreys. Overall, Lanier totaled 1,613 points over 142 games in his five-year career, good for an average
of 11.4 per contest. He shot 276-of-867 from 3-point range, which is better than 30 percent from that range. Lanier is the second straight fifth-year guard transfer to join the Volunteers, win a Naismith "Starting Five" award, collect All-America honors and hear his name called in the NBA Draft, following Dalton Knecht in 2023-24.
Lanier is the second by Detroit. He follows the program's all-time leading scorer, Allan Houston, who went No. 11 in 1993. Lanier spent four years at North Florida, before coming to Tennessee as a fifth-year transfer, The Nashville native averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds Volunteer chosen
LSU Baseball Wins 2025 National Championship
SIDELINE SPORTS VANDERBILT MEN TO PLAY WAKE FOREST - The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team will play Wake Forest in a non-conference home-and-home series over the next two seasons. The Commodores will visit the Demon Deacons on December 21, 2025, and host in Memorial Gymnasium during the 2026 non-conference campaign. December’s meeting in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, marks the first matchup between the Dores and Deacons in a decade. Vandy earned an 86-64 win over Wake at the 2015 Maui Invitational and is 6-4 all-time against the Deacons. The Dores are making their first trip to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum since 2006. Vandy is 2-2 overall at Wake Forest. Vanderbilt will host Wake Forest as part of the non-conference schedule in the 2026-27 season. A date for the return trip to Nashville has not been finalized. The Dores are 3-2 against Wake Forest in Memorial Gymnasium. Vanderbilt claimed a pair of wins over ACC foes in the 2024-25 campaign, knocking off California and Virginia Tech. The Dores are now 111-103 all-time against current members of the ACC. Vanderbilt will also face SMU in the 2025-26 season as part of the annual ACC/SEC Challenge. FLORIDA BASKETBALL - The Florida men's basketball team will square off against UConn in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. The Gators and Huskies will meet for the second straight season, following Florida's 77-75 NCAA second-round win in March on the way to its 2025 national championship. The game will air at 9 p.m. on ESPN as the second half of a doubleheader, following BYU vs. Clemson. In addition to the Jimmy V Classic, the Gators open the season with another high-profile showdown vs. Arizona in the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas. UF will also compete in the Rady Children's Invitational Nov. 27-28 in San Diego, where Florida will play two games against a field consisting of Providence, TCU and Wisconsin. UAB WOMEN'S SOCCER - The UAB women’s soccer program has released its schedule for the 2025 season The Blazers, under the direction of third year head coach Lisa Mann, will open the season with two exhibition matches, beginning with Jacksonville State on August 3 at home. UAB welcomes South Alabama on August 9 to close out the exhibition matches. To open the regular season, the Blazers host UCF on August 14, followed by two road matches at ETSU (Aug. 17) and Ole Miss (Aug. 21). The Green and Gold returns home to host six consecutive matches at PNC Field. The home stretch kicks off with ULM on August 24 followed by Southern Miss (Aug. 31), Western Kentucky (Sept. 4), Belmont (Sept. 7), Rice (Sept. 11) for the first conference match, and Samford (Sept. 14). UAB hits the road for its first conference road test at Memphis on September 18. The Blazers come home to face UTSA on September 25 then go on the road to take on Charlotte (Oct. 2) and Tulsa (Oct. 9). On October 12, the Green and Gold hosts ECU then travel to Florida Atlantic on October 19. The Blazers final two home matches are Temple (Oct. 23) and South Florida (Oct. 26). UAB travels to North Texas on October 30. VANDERBILT MEN ADD TRANSFER PORTAL STANDOUT - Eastern Kentucky standout George Kimble III has signed with Vanderbilt out of the transfer portal. A 6-foot-2 guard, Kimble III exploded onto the Division I scene at EKU in 2024-25 where he averaged 18.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a sophomore in 25 games. He was named second team All-Atlantic Sun in his lone season with the Colonels. Kimble III suffered a season-ending injury on Feb. 8 and is planning to redshirt the 2025-26 campaign at Vanderbilt while recovering. In his 24 full games played prior to his injury, Kimble III averaged 18.7 points per game and scored 20-or-more points on 11 occasions. He dropped a season-high 33 points in the ASUN opener at Central Arkansas. Kimble III also scored 24 points at Louisville. Kimble III led the Colonels with 65 steals on the season, a total which ranked tied for 40th nationally despite missing the final seven games of the year. He finished the season with 2.6 steals per game, ranking sixth nationally. Prior to joining Eastern Kentucky, Kimble III played his freshman season at Division II Eckerd College. He was named to the DII All-South Region Second Team and was the Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year.
Right-hander Anthony 6.1 innings for his 12th win of the season, and LSU broke a 1-1 tie with a four- run fourth inning as the Tigers captured their eighth College World Series title with a 5-3 win over Coastal Carolina at Charles Schwab Field. LSU, which won its eighth straight game, completed the season with a 53-15 record, including an perfect 5-0 mark in the College World Series. Coastal Carolina, finished the year with a 56-13 record. “Unbelievable, I'm so proud right now,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson, who led the Tigers to the national title for the second time in three seasons. “It's not to be taken for granted being here two years ago. That (2023 championship) was special, greatest night of my life. This is equal, and maybe even tops in some ways. “It was probably a Eyanson pitched
this year was ‘Tough and Together,’ and I've never seen a team more mentally tough and consistent.” Eyanson (12-2) worked 6.1 innings and limited the Chanticleers to three runs on seven hits with one walk and nine strikeouts, firing 99 pitches. CCU starter Jacob Morrison (12-1) was charged with the loss, as he allowed five runs on six hits with 3.2 innings with one walk and two strikeouts. The Chanticleers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when designated hitter Dean Mihos unloaded his third homer of the year. LSU tied the game in the top of the third when designated hitter Ethan Frey ripped an RBI double, scoring second baseman Daniel Dickinson, who had led off the inning with a single. The Tigers erupted for four runs in the fourth inning as centerfielder Chris Stanfield and leftfielder Derek Curiel each delivered two-run singles to highlight the outburst. Walter Clayton Jr. (18th/ Utah Jazz) to make up the second-largest Florida draft class in program history (five in 2007). The three were the highest-scoring trio in Florida history last season on the way to leading the Gators to the 2025 national championship. Martin, a native of
Coastal Carolina narrowed the gap to 5-3 in the seventh against Eyanson when Wells Sykes hit a two- run homer, his fourth dinger of the season. Shores, however, entered the game and retired the next two hitters in the seventh. He fired two more scoreless innings to earn his second save of the year, allowing just one hit with no walks and four strikeouts. Mihos led off the CCU ninth with a single, but Shores struck out shortstop Ty Dooley and forced Sykes to ground into a 4-6- 3 double play to end the game. “Chase Shores, I'm so proud of him,” Johnson said. “I mean, he was a weekend starter on the 2023 national championship
year ago today, we had 12 players in our program that actually played on the field for us in 2024 – 12. We had to go to work. Our motto for team as a freshman before he was injured. And then he had to go through the 18-month recovery rehab and persevered through all of that. And there's nobody I would have rather had finish the game tonight for the second national championship than Chase Shores.” Florida Trio Joins NBA Florida's Alijah Martin MS,
Summit, became the 39th player drafted in Florida history and the first Gator to be drafted by the Raptors. Richard, from Fairburn, GA, became the 40th Gator drafted all-time and the second to be selected by Golden State (Andrew DeClercq, 1995, 34th).
and Will Richard were both selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft. Martin was selected 39th by the Toronto Raptors and Richard was 56th pick by the Golden State Warriors (via a trade with Memphis). Martin and Richard join
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