Zachary Ryan Thomas (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Keravnos Keravnos B.C. (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Στροβόλου «Ο Κεραυνός»), also known as Keravnos Strovolou, is a professional basketball club based in Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus. It plays its home games in the ...

of the

Cypriot League The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

College career

A 6'7"

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, Thomas came to Bucknell from Oakdale High School in

Ijamsville, Maryland Ijamsville ( ) is an unincorporated community located southeast of Frederick, in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The town was founded by Plummer Ijams, a descendant of Welsh immigrants, from whom the town took its name. The discovery ...

. Thomas had a standout career at Oakdale, ultimately becoming the all-time leading scorer in Frederick County history and the first player to eclipse the 2,000 point mark. He selected Bucknell based on their basketball success and academic reputation. Thomas worked his way into the starting lineup in his sophomore season, then enjoyed a breakout season as a junior in 2016–17. He averaged 15.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and was ultimately named to first-team All-

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...

alongside classmate

Nana Foulland Nana F. Foulland (born October 21, 1995) is a video analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder and former American professional basketball player who last played for Boulazac Basket Dordogne of LNB Pro B. He played college basketball for Bucknell Unive ...

. In the 2017 Patriot League tournament, Thomas led the Bison to the league title, scoring 17 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the title game, earning Most Valuable Player honors. With the win, the Bison advanced to the 2017 NCAA tournament, where they lost to 4 seed

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

in the first round. Thomas entered the 2017–18 season as a preseason All-Patriot League selection. Additionally, he was named to the

Lou Henson Award The Lou Henson Award is an award given annually by ''CollegeInsider.com'' to the most outstanding mid-major men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award, established in 2010, is named for legendary Illinois Fighting Ill ...

mid-season watch list. On February 26, 2018, Thomas was named Patriot League Player of the Year.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including inte ...

, Thomas was later included in the 2018

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

roster of the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. On July 27, 2018, Thomas signed with

Okapi Aalstar Okapi Aalst is a Belgian professional basketball club from Aalst, Belgium. The club competes in the top tier BNXT League and plays its home games in the Okapi Forum, which has a seating capacity of 2,800 people. Okapi is a long-time participant o ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. After a successful year playing in Belgium, Thomas was brought into the NBA Summer League once again, this time to play for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. On July 17, 2019, he signed with

VL Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

of Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

. But due to the coronavirus pandemic in Italy and the suspension of the

Italian league The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

, Thomas left the team on March 10. On October 13, 2020, Thomas signed with

BC Budivelnyk BC Budivelnyk Kyiv (in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Будівельник Київ) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In June 2018, it was forced to withdr ...

in Ukraine. On January 6, 2021, he signed with

Wilki Morskie Szczecin The King Wilki Morskie Szczecin are a Polish professional basketball team based in Szczecin, West Pomeranian, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provi ...

of the PLK. Thomas averaged 6.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. On September 6, 2021, he signed with

Bisons Loimaa LoKoKo Bisons Loimaa is a Finnish professional basketball club that is based in Loimaa. History The club was established in 1964 as Loimaan Korikonkarit. The team was renamed Bisons after it was promoted to the Korisliiga in 2011. The team won t ...

of the

Koripallon I-divisioona The Koripallon I-divisioona is the second tier professional basketball league in Finland. The teams play playoffs Keravnos Keravnos B.C. (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Στροβόλου «Ο Κεραυνός»), also known as Keravnos Strovolou, is a professional basketball club based in Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus. It plays its home games in the ...

of the

References

External links

Bucknell Bison bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Zach 1996 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Basketball players from Maryland Basketball players from Minnesota BC Budivelnyk players Bisons Loimaa players Bucknell Bison men's basketball players Keravnos B.C. players Norrköping Dolphins players Okapi Aalstar players Sportspeople from Frederick County, Maryland People from Maplewood, Minnesota Sportspeople from Ramsey County, Minnesota Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus American expatriate basketball people in Sweden American expatriate basketball people in Finland Wilki Morskie Szczecin players