Five-star recruit Nate Ament has committed to Tennessee for the 2025-26 season, he told ESPN on Sunday. He chose the Volunteers over top programs like Duke, Kentucky, Arkansas and Louisville, On3’s Joe Tipton reported.
Ament, who finished up his senior season in Manassas, Va. this year, admitted his college decision wasn’t an easy one, crediting Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, who’s been with the Volunteers since 2015.
“Coach Barnes sees me as a one-and-done type player,” Ament said. “He has done it before with Kevin Durant [at Texas]. He sees me as that kind of guy for his program. I built a great relationship with the coaching staff. I trust them a lot, and they have big goals for me. I think they’ll do a great job of developing me as a player and a young man. I trust the coaches to help me get to the next level.”
Ament had a stellar senior season. He helped lead Highland High School to a 42-8 record and a VISAA Division I Championship title. He was also named a McDonald’s All-American and won Virginia’s Gatorade Player of the Year award in boys basketball.
He sounds excited to join the Volunteers and coach Barnes in Tennessee. He has big plans for the program, too.
“I feel like we’ll be a national championship team,” Ament said. “We’re going to go on that kind of run. The coaches told me they plan to use me as an offensive weapon and then develop my defensive side. They don’t assign me a position. They joke about it, but they see me as just a player. I can do everything on both ends of the floor.”
The Volunteers’ season came to an end in the Elite Eight when they lost to Houston in the NCAA tournament. We’ll see what Ament and the team’s other incoming key players can do during the 2025-26 season.
Ament is projected to be a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
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