The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
2024-25 Men's Basketball Roster
Roster
Onyema, Ze'Rik
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Jersey Number 21
Ze'Rik Onyema
- Position:
- F
- Height:
- 6-9
- Weight:
- 235
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- El Paso, Texas
- High School:
- San Antonio John Jay HS
- Major:
- Physical Culture & Sports
Bio
Pronunciation: ZAIR-eck own-YEMM-ah
Returns for his second year in the UT program ... has played in 85 career games (35 starts) during his first four seasons of college at UTEP (2020-23) and Texas (2023-24) ... career totals of 360 points (4.2 ppg) and 235 rebounds (2.8 rpg) in 1,082 minutes (12.7 mpg) ... has converted 56.8-percent (150-264) from the floor in his career ... reached double figures in scoring 13 times and double digits in rebounds two times in his career ... played in 23 games (three starts) at Texas last year and ranked fourth on the team in blocks (16) while averaging 3.3 ppg and 2.2 rpg in 9.1 mpg ... elected to transfer from UTEP following the 2022-23 season ... played in 61 career games (32 starts) and registered 285 points (4.7 ppg) and 184 rebounds (3.0 rpg) in 872 minutes (14.3 mpg) over his three years at UTEP ... redshirted in 2020-21 when Rodney Terry was the head coach at UTEP ... grew up in El Paso but moved to San Antonio for all four years of his high school career (San Antonio John Jay HS).
As a Redshirt Junior in 2023-24 at TEXAS:
Played in 23 games (three starts) at Texas ... ranked fourth on the team in blocks (16) while averaging 3.3 ppg and 2.2 rpg in 9.1 mpg ... converted 54.5-percent (30-55) from the floor on the season ... registered a season-high eight rebounds, four points (2-2 FT) and one block in 13 minutes at West Virginia (Jan. 13) ... tied his career high with three blocks to go along with seven boards and four points in 12 minutes against Wyoming (Nov. 26) ... posted seven points (3-5 FG) and four boards in a season-high 28 minutes against No. 5/4 UConn (Nov. 20) ... recorded 11 points (4-7 FG, 3-4 FT), a team-best seven boards and two blocks in 18 minutes during his Texas debut against UIW (Nov. 6).
As a Redshirt Sophomore in 2022-23 at UTEP:
Played in all 32 contests (31 starts) ... tied for the team lead in blocked shots (16) and ranked second in rebounding (4.4 rpg) and sixth in scoring (7.1 ppg) while playing 20.1 minutes per contest ... converted a team-best 55.4-percent (92-166) from the floor ... reached double figures in scoring 12 times ... closed the season by scoring double digits in six of his last eight contests ... registered a pair of double-doubles ... had 13 points (6-8 FG) and seven boards in 21 minutes against New Mexico State (Nov. 12) ... posted his first collegiate double-double with 10 points (4-8 FG) and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes against Alcorn State (Nov. 22) ... registered 16 points (7-11 FG) and two blocks in 22 minutes against UAB (Feb. 16) ... tallied a career-high 19 points (8-10 FG, 3-4 FT) and six boards in a career-best 31 minutes at FIU (Feb. 23) ... recorded his second double-double with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in 27 minutes at FAU (Feb. 25).
As a Redshirt Freshman in 2021-22 at UTEP:
Played in 25 of a possible 34 contests (one start) ... helped UTEP register a 20-14 overall record (11-7 C-USA) and reach the second round of the Basketball Classic ... averaged 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per contest ... converted 65.7-percent (23-35) from the field ... earned his first collegiate start in the C-USA Tournament first-round contest against Old Dominion (March 9).
As a Freshman in 2020-21 at UTEP:
Appeared in five games and logged 13 total minutes ... granted a redshirt year ... named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
High School:
John Jay High School in San Antonio, Texas ... led his team in scoring (18.1 ppg), rebounding (12.2 rpg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg) while earning first-team All-District 28-6A and Academic All-State accolades as a senior in 2019-20 ... recorded 20 double-doubles and converted 62.0-percent (217-350) from the floor as a senior ... tallied 22 points and 20 rebounds against San Antonio Taft during his senior year ... recorded nine-straight games (Dec. 21-Jan. 28) of 20-plus points in his senior season and averaged 23.1 points and 13.1 rebounds during the stretch.
Personal:
Born in Savannah, Ga. ... has lived in the following places during his youth: Savannah, Ga.; Houston, Texas, Germany; El Paso, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Hawaii ... son of Kingsley and Mary Onyema ... Kingsley works in logistics for the U.S. Army and is based at the Pentagon, while Mary is an eighth-grade teacher ... Kingsley is a native of Owerri, Nigeria ... has one older brother, Kenneth, and one younger brother, Kingsley Jr. ... wears jersey No. 21 to pay tribute to his mom’s birthday (April 21) and his parents’ anniversary (June 21) ... grew from 5-10 as a freshman in high school to 6-7 by his junior year ... started playing basketball at age 12 ... ran track during his youth and competed at age 12 in the U.S. Junior Olympics in El Paso and a national meet in Baltimore ... also played football from fourth grade to eighth grade ... majoring in Physical Culture & Sports.
Texas Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament Tennessee Postgame Press Conference [March 23, 2024]
Sunday, March 24
Texas Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament Second Round Press Conference [March 22, 2024]
Saturday, March 23
Texas Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament Colorado State Postgame Press Conference [March 21, 2024]
Friday, March 22
Texas Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament First Round Press Conference [March 20, 2024]
Wednesday, March 20
