Tennessee freshman Nate Ament has been widely considered a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft for some time now. And after a few weeks of regular-season games down, that projection hasn’t shifted anywhere.
In two mock drafts that came out this week, the 6-foot-10 wing is listed as a projected Top 5 pick in next year’s NBA Draft.
The first projection comes from Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, who has Ament tagged as the No. 5 overall pick to the Sacramento Kings. Ament is the highest pick from the SEC and has a pro comparison to Zaccharie Risacher from the Atlanta Hawks.
“With at least 15 points in each of Tennessee’s first six games, Nate Ament impressed with his advantageous 6’10” size for creating separation working from the perimeter,” Wasserman writes. “Percentages aside, he’s shown clear shooting range and encouraging shotmaking diversity with his pull-up and mid-range arsenal. Ament had less success against noteworthy opponents Kansas and Houston. His lack of explosion turning the corner and limited strength at the rim have become evident.”
Wasserman also notes Ament’s “encouraging” passing skill set from his position.
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The other projection came on Thursday from The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman, who has Ament going No. 4 overall in the class.
“It’ll probably be until his second contract before we see what he really can be, but he’s got a ton of potential,” Goodman wrote about Ament. “He’s long and while he hasn’t shot it well, I think he’ll be a good shooter at our level. He just needs to get stronger, but he’s got all the tools. I see him going somewhere from 3 to 6 in this draft.”
Through nine games this season, including a run in the Players Era Festival from Las Vegas, Ament is averaging 17.1 points per game. He’s reached 20 points in two of Tennessee’s last four games in showings against Rutgers and Kansas. Ament is still figuring out his role and how to best use his talents, but the signs for success are buried deep within his game. He’s been particularly good about getting to the foul line, with 70 free throw attempts already through nine games.
“We knew he’d go through it, but he’s going to have to listen because we’re telling him,” Rick Barnes said about Ament after a tough performance in a loss to Syracuse on Tuesday. “But some of it, he’s going to have to go through the fire and he’s going to have to learn when to pick his spots, when not to. But he’s also got to continue to understand the flow of the game. We love him to death. We do, and he works his tail off, but there’s just so much of this game he still has to learn. And he’s never been a quote-unquote true perimeter player.”
Ament and the Volunteers will return to the court on Saturday night in Nashville for a non-conference game against No. 14 Illinois in Music City Madness. The Vols are looking to bounce back from a two-game losing streak, but the Fighting Illini won’t go down easily. It should make for a solid Top 25 matchup from Bridgestone Arena.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live coverage of the game on Saturday night.
