The good news keeps rolling in for Tennessee basketball as the countdown to the 2025-26 season dwindles. On Monday, the SEC released its Preseason All-SEC Teams, which featured a pair of Vols. Both freshman forward Nate Ament and senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie were named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team.
The duo of Ament and Gillespie are newcomers to Rick Barnes’ program. Ament was the No. 4 overall recruit in the country, who picked Tennessee over the likes of Arkansas, Duke, Louisville and Kentucky. Gillespie was a highly sought-after transfer this past cycle who is returning to his home state.
Ament, standing at 6-foot-10, is an intriguing NBA draft prospect that’s expected to be a top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Despite his height and length, he’s extremely mobile and has great touch on his shot from range.
“We are ecstatic to welcome Nate Ament and his fantastic family to Rocky Top,” Barnes said in April. “While everyone is aware of just how special a player Nate is, what really drew us to him throughout the recruiting process was the type of person he is. Nate is a high-character, family-oriented young man with a tremendous, caring support system around him who will mesh with our program from day one. He brings a dynamic skill set to the hardwood, embodying the attributes of a modern basketball player.”
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Gillespie joins the Vols after one season at Maryland. With the Terrapins, he produced 14.7 points per game on 45.3% shooting from the field and 40.7% on 3-pointers. He also tallied 4.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
Prior to his time at College Park, Gillespie played two seasons at Belmont in the mid-state. He is from Greenville, Tennessee, where he was a two-time 5StarPreps.com Tennessee Player of the Year.
Gillespie stands at 6-foot-1 and projects to be Tennessee’s starting point guard in the post-Zakai Zeigler era. He has already shown off an incredible knack for scoring, dropping 34 points in the open intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday morning, including 8-for-12 shooting from the field and 6-for-9 from range.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ja’Kobi to Rocky Top, a place he and his wonderful family know well as East Tennessee natives who bleed orange. Ja’Kobi is a high-character young man who fits our program and truly wants to be a Volunteer,” Barnes said in April. “A dynamic point guard who can really shoot the ball from deep and get his teammates involved, Ja’Kobi is a fearless competitor with a high basketball IQ. We expect him to help lead our team from day one and we feel quite fortunate to have him as a part of our program.”
Tennessee opens the season Nov. 3 when hosting Mercer. However, you can get your first look at the team on Oct. 26 when it welcomes Duke to Food City Center for an exhibition.
