Reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year and Tennessee basketball senior Yves Pons has been named to the 15-man watch list for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club Announced Wednesday.

The watch list is chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s board of selectors, comprised of leading journalists from around the country, who base their decisions on outstanding on-court defensive performances during the 2020-21 college basketball regular season.

Pons earned last season’s SEC Defensive Player of the Year award after tying Tennessee’s single-season blocks record, with 73. He blocked at least one shot in all 31 of UT’s games last season (2.4 bpg).

He became the first Vol to claim the award and became just the third Tennessee player to earn a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team.

The Fuveau, France, native has the innate ability to effectively guard all five positions on the floor and makes the Vols virtually matchup-proof while he’s on the floor.

This season, Pons has racked up 27 blocks in 14 games, ranking fourth in the SEC with 1.9 per outing. In SEC play, he’s third among league players with 2.5 blocks per game (20 blocks in eight games).

He currently sits in 13th on Tennessee’s all-time blocks list with 117 for his career. He also has 100 blocks in his last 45 appearances (2.2 per game) dating to the start of last season.

Pons also has enhanced his offensive production since the start of last year. Through Tennessee’s first eight SEC games, he is averaging 9.5 points. He recently dropped a season-high 20 points against Missouri on Jan. 23.

The Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists on Feb. 25. The winner of the award presented to the nation’s best defender will be announced in April.

-UT Athletics