While Tennessee basketball has had most of its attention on the transfer portal since the end of its season, Rick Barnes and his staff have intensified its recruitment of five-star forward Nate Ament.
A timeline for when Ament will make his decision is unclear but Tennessee appears to be trending in his recruitment. 247sports National Basketball Analyst Travis Branham placed a crystal ball prediction Thursday afternoon for Ament to commit to Tennessee basketball.
Ament is the top remaining uncommitted prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The 6-foot-9, 185-pound wing ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 4 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings.
While Ament’s 6-foot-9 height allows him to play the four-spot, the Warrenton, Virginia native is a natural small forward due to his skillset and ability to thrive on the perimeter.
Tennessee basketball made Ament’s top five including Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky and Louisville earlier in this spring but the Blue Devils and Cardinals looked like the true favorites when Ament announced plans to commit at the McDonald’s All-American game.
More From RTI: Lincoln Memorial Transfer Wing Elyjah Freeman Visiting Tennessee Basketball This Week
But Ament pushed back his commitment date and Tennessee up its efforts recruiting the five-star, emerging with Duke as the top contender to land the five-star recruit.
Ament has twice visited Tennessee, officially visiting in the fall the same weekend that the Vol football team faced Alabama. He returned to Knoxville for an unofficial visit in January for Tennessee basketball’s matchup against Kentucky.
Tennessee also signed three-star point guard Troy Henderson earlier this week after landing his commitment last month. Henderson was the point guard on Ament’s AAU team, which is how the Vols originally discovered him.
The Vols’ currently have four scholarships to work with as they fill out their roster for the 2025-26 season. They’ve signed three prep prospects in Henderson and four-star guard Amari Evans and four-star center DeWayne Brown.
Tennessee has signed two transfers to date in Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey. The Vols are also awaiting decisions from Maryland shooting guard Rodney Rice and Lincoln Memorial wing Elyjah Freeman. They’ve hosted both on visits in the last week.
One Response
I really hope that Nate the Fake goes to that awful town Chokesville or Knoxville.He could never play at U.K. because we get men not Pre-madonnas.Nate is the best player that Coach I Can’t Win The Big One can buy.So please go anywhere but U.K.,we have winners.