Five-star Tennessee basketball freshman Nate Ament chose the Vols over Duke, Louisville, Kentucky and others back in the spring. It speaks to how relevant Rick Barnes has made Tennessee nationally that they were able to beat out basketball powers to land the blue-chip recruit.
Tennessee basketball is on a similar level to some of the blue-bloods in the sport, knocking off Duke and Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament in recent years. But those basketball schools can’t compete with the scene Ament will be apart of at Tennessee Saturday with ESPN’s College Gameday in town for the Vols’ rivalry showdown with Georgia at Neyland Stadium.
Ament stopped by ESPN College Gameday Saturday morning and fired up the Volunteer crowd before the show began.
Rocky Top is ready!
Top-5 incoming @Vol_Hoops freshman Nate Ament has Tennessee fans fired up.
Join us at 9 ET on ESPN and the ESPN App! pic.twitter.com/dEfzddFzDs
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 13, 2025
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Tennessee football is looking to end an eight-game losing streak against Georgia, and more importantly, make an early statement to throw themselves in the thick of the SEC Championship race. The Vols are 3.5-point underdogs against their SEC rival the morning of kickoff according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Ament is the highest rated signee in the modern era of Tennessee basketball. The 6-foot-9 wing ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 4 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings. A Warrenton native, Ament ranks as the top player in the state of Virginia and the No. 1 power forward in the 2025 cycle.
The five-star freshman did little to quiet the hype this offseason, turning in a strong first summer in Knoxville to set himself up for success during the upcoming season.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Georgia is at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe are on the call for ABC.
