The five-star rating and No. 3 overall ranking for Nate Ament in the 2025 recruiting class might still be selling the small forward short. According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, there is already talk of Ament possibly being the next No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
“He’s becoming a complete player,” Givony said after Ament signed with Tennessee this week, “but is only operating at 25 percent of his potential currently. It’s going to be really exciting to see how Coach Rick Barnes and his staff utilize him.
“I think he’ll be one of the best players in the SEC next season with the platform they will give him. Some NBA scouts think he could end up being the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He has that kind of talent.”
Nate Ament signed with Tennessee over Duke, Kentucky, Louisville and Arkansas
Ament committed to the Vols on Sunday and signed on Monday. He’s just the highest-ranked signee for Tennessee in the recruiting rankings era.
Barnes said in a press release announcing the signing that Ament embodies “all the attributes of a modern basketball player.”
“Standing out with next-level positional size,” Barnes said, “he possesses the rare combination of the ability to dribble, pass and shoot with confidence and precision.
“Nate has a strong basketball IQ to go along with an excellent pairing of skill and toughness. He’s the kind of versatile talent who can impact the game in a variety of ways and, in our eyes, he was the No. 1 player in the class.”
The 6-foot-9, 185-pound Ament picked Tennessee over Duke, Kentucky, Louisville and Arkansas.
“It’s been incredibly impressive to see how Nate Ament has grown over the past year and change,” said Givony, ESPN’s lead NBA Draft analyst. “Not just physically in terms of his frame and stature, but also with his assertiveness, ball-handling, passing, physicality and defensive intensity.”
‘Ament can perform across multiple positions and in multiple roles’
Ament became the fourth prep signee in Tennessee’s 2025 class, joining four-star shooting guard Amari Evans, four-star center Dewayne Brown and three-star point guard Troy Henderson.
The Vols so far have added two players from the NCAA Transfer Portal in Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey.
“Positional versatility is the intriguing piece of Nate Ament’s game,” On3’s Jamie Shaw said. “In the 6-9 range, he is someone who can initiate offensive with his ability to process or score the ball with consistency from each level.
“He plays with toughness, deviate being thin, and he has natural instincts defending off ball. In the fluid nature of today’s game, Ament can perform across multiple positions and in multiple roles.”
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