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Photo by: Matthew Mitchell

Szymon Zapala

Position:
C
Height:
7-0
Weight:
245
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Zaborze, Poland
High School:
SMS PZkosz Wladyslawowo
Prev School:
Utah State / Longwood

Senior (2024-25): Appeared in 36 games and started 36 times … Did not play vs. Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament … Averaged 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game … Connected on 65.3 percent of his field goals (62-of-95) and hit 65.9 percent of his free throw attempts (29-of-44) … Blocked 21 shots … Scored in double figures twice … Led the team in scoring once and in rebounding three times … Started all 20 Big Ten Conference games, averaging 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds … Scored a season-high 15 points and led the team in scoring in a win at Ohio State (1/3), connecting on 7-of-8 field goal attempts and playing a season-high 23 minutes … Also scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in a win over Samford (11/19) … Grabbed a season-high 9 rebounds and scored 8 points in a win over Western Michigan (12/30) … Scored 7 points and grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds in a win over Colorado (11/25) in the Maui Invitational … Selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court, recognizing players with a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average or higher.

At Longwood (2023-24): Spent one season at Longwood University in Virginia, helping guide the team to a 21-14 record as the Lancers won the Big South Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament … Averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in 16.7 minutes, connecting on 62.9 percent of his shots from the floor and starting in 23 of 35 games … He was a Big South All-Tournament selection after averaging 14.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over three games … The fifth-seeded Lancers beat the top two seeds in the league with Zapala scoring 17 points in each game … He scored a career-high 20 points and had 11 rebounds against St. Bonaventure to open the season.

At Utah State (2020-23): Zapala spent three seasons at Utah State, first under Craig Smith and his last two with Ryan Odom … Appeared in 45 games for the Aggies, averaging 1.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 4.6 minutes … He was a two-time Academic All-Mountain West selection and a Mountain West Scholar-Athlete honoree.

High School: At the high school level, he averaged 17.9 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 2.1 assists for SMS PZkosz Wladyslawowo … Zapala played for the Polish National Team at the 2019 U18 FIBA European Championships, averaging 7.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game as the team finished in second place … In addition, he played for Trefl Sopot in the U20 Polish Cup, helping his side to the championships and earned MVP honors.

Personal: Szymon Stanislaw Zapala … Born on May 9, 2001 in Oswiecim, Poland … The son of Ryszard and Jolanta Zapala … Has an older brother, Mateusz … Lists Game of Thrones as his favorite TV show … Favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption … Favorite athlete is Giannis Antetokounmpo … Lists his fiancée, Sage Tingey, and his family as the people he most admires in his life … Favorite food is his mom’s traditional Polish kitchen … Played ice hockey growing up in Poland … Hobbies include watching TV shows and playing chess.