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Jahmai Mashack says goodbye to Tennessee Basketball program, fans

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey06/30/25GrantRamey
Jahmai Mashack
USA TODAY IMAGES/Caitie McMekin

Jahmai Mashack penned his goodbye message to the Tennessee Basketball program and Tennessee fans in a post on social media on Monday afternoon. Mashack was the No. 59 overall pick in the NBA Draft Thursday night, selected by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Vol Nation –

To the countless fans who have become my family, I THANK YOU! • You welcomed me. You appreciated my heart. You respected my commitment. You allowed me to boldly share my faith. You gave to the community WITH me. You encouraged me as I gave 110% of myself 100% of the time.

THANK YOU for understanding ME. In basketball, playing hard is a SKILL. Being an elite, multi-positional player is a gift. And never missing a game in four years is the grace of God. You took this journey with me and together, along with my teammates, we won at a historic level.

And lastly, in the most fitting of ways, you were right there with me for another BUZZER BEATER, when my name was the last one called as the 59th pick in the 2025 NBA DRAFT!!

— Jahmai Mashack

Chaz Lanier drafted No. 37 overall in NBA Draft

The Houston Rockets selected Mashack with the final pick of the draft, with the selection party of a trade to the Grizzlies. Chaz Lanier was selected earlier in the second round at No. 37 overall to the Detroit Pistons.

Mashack, the 6-foot-4, 202-pound Fontana, Calif., native, was considered one of the best perimeter defenders in college basketball last season while averaging 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 38 games as a senior with the Vols. 

He was named to the SEC’s All-Defensive Team and was the Field of 68’s National Defensive Player of the Year, while also winning the Torchbearer Award, the top honor for a student at the University of Tennessee. 

Jahmai Mashack ‘might be one of the best perimeter defenders on the planet’

“Mashack was the best defensive player in college basketball this year,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie wrote of Mashack in his NBA Draft profile, “and might be one of the best perimeter defenders on the planet right now. This is not an exaggeration.”

Mashack averaged 4.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 137 games at Tennessee over the last four seasons. He left the Vols tied with Zakai Zeigler for the most wins (109) for a four-year player in men’s basketball program history. 

Mashack also appeared in the most NCAA Tournament wins (9) and tournament games (13) in program history and set the program record for total steals (18) and single-game steals (5) in NCAA Tournament games. 

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