Male Amateur Athlete of the Year
Grant Williams, 2017 SEC Player of the Year, joined Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bernard King as the only Tennessee Vols to earn the distinction as underclassmen. He led the Vols in scoring (15.2 ppg), finished second in blocks (44) and rebounding (6.0 rpg), and was fourth in assists (66) on the season.
Williams, a unanimous AP First-Team All SEC selection, helped lead the Vols to a share ofthe regular-season SEC championship and a spot in the SEC Tournament Championship Game. The team had been picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the 14-team Southeastern Conference. The Vols finished with a 26-9 (10-5 SEC) record and their first bid to the NCAA tournament since 2014, receiving a No. 3 seeding.
Williams posted double-digit scores in 29 of UT’s 35 games this season and eclipsed the 20-point margin on eight occasions, including a career-high 37 points against Vanderbilt. The performance marked the most points by a Vol since SEC Player of the Year Ron Slay scored 38 points vs. New Mexico in 2003.
Through two seasons at Tennessee, Williams is only 67 points (933) shy of becoming the 49th Volunteer to reach the 1,000-point club. He currently stands just outside of the top 10 for UT’s career rankings. He sits at 14th in offensive rebounds (175) and 15th in blocks (105).