Tennessee freshman Nate Ament signed with the Volunteers in April and is already turning heads during summer practices on campus.
But while he hasn’t played any games yet, Ament did arrive in Knoxville as the Vols’ highest-rated all-time commit, according to 247Sports’ recruiting rankings. Ament edged out Kennedy Chandler and Tobias Harris for the top spot in Tennessee’s all-time recruiting list in the era that these stats have been tracked.
Could Tennessee add another elite, top-five prospect in the next recruiting class, though? It looks like the Vols are making a push.
Ryan Hampton, a dynamic prospect from Dynamic Prep in Dallas, TX, revealed on social media this week that he had been re-offered a scholarship by Rick Barnes and the UT coaching staff. He specifically noted Barnes and new Tennessee assistant Steve McClain in his post announcing the news, along with a picture of VFL and former first-round draft pick Dalton Knecht.
Blessed to be re-offered from Coach Barnes and Coach McClain from the University of Tennessee 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/yBaMVF56fZ
— Ryan Hampton (@ryhamp14) June 15, 2025
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Hampton is an elite prospect in the 2027 recruiting class. 247Sports’ Composite Rankings have the Texas native as the No. 2 prospect in the nation, the No. 2 small forward, and the No. 1 player from the Lone Star State. His composite ranking of 0.990 is just one one-thousandth of a point lower than Nate Ament’s ranking at 0.991, despite the current Vol being listed as the fourth-best prospect in his 2025 cycle.
If Hampton ends up choosing Tennessee, he would be the Vols’ second-highest all-time commit (in the rankings era) behind only Ament.
247’s recruiting timeline shows that Tennessee originally offered Hampton on Aug. 6, 2024, but the news from earlier in the week suggests that the Vols are beginning to make a massive push for the extremely talented prospect from Texas.
Although it’s still early in the process, the 6-foot-6, 190-pound player will undoubtedly be one of the most sought-after names in the cycle because of his talent he brings to the table.
Hampton isn’t the only notable player that Tennessee appears to be recruiting from Dynamic Prep in Dallas, either. According to a report from 247’s Dushawn London on Wednesday, Tennessee has offered a scholarship to 6-foot-8 power forward Marcus Spears Jr., the son of former LSU defensive lineman Marcus Spears and former WNBA player Aiysha Smith. 247’s Composite Rankings have Spears Jr. as a five-star prospect, the No. 8 player in the class, the No. 3 power forward in the class, and the No. 2 player from the state of Texas.
It’s still early in the cycle, but there’s no doubt that Hampton is going to be a game-changing recruit for whichever program is able to land him in the 2027 cycle. Could that be Tennessee, just one year after landing Nate Ament? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee basketball offseason news.
