It appears Tennessee basketball may get its star freshman forward back for the SEC Tournament. According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Nate Ament is expected to play against Auburn on Thursday afternoon.
Thamel also noted it is unclear how many minutes Ament will play. Getting the All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman member back in the fold is certainly an advantage, though.
Ament suffered a leg injury against Alabama on Feb. 28, forcing him to exit the game. He gave it a brief go later, but checked back out and did not return.
He is listed as questionable on the availability report heading into the game vs. Auburn. Fellow freshmen Amari Evans is noted as probable, while Troy Henderson is questionable. Cade Phillips remains out and is set to miss the remainder of the season.
Source: Tennessee star freshman Nate Ament is expected to play against Auburn today in the SEC quarterfinals. He’s listed as questionable. There’s no certainly how many minutes he’ll go, but the expectation now is that he’ll play. pic.twitter.com/3m3wenxqZv
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 12, 2026
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“He’s okay,” Barnes said about Ament on Tuesday. “He did some more. He did some things with Chad (Newman) the last couple days, and I think he’ll see a little bit more today. But still, we’ll just see. He has been doing more with Chad running and G (Garrett Medenwald), those type things. He’ll probably push a little bit more today and see how he responds from it.”
Tennessee’s game against Auburn is set for approximately 3 p.m. ET and will air on SEC Network. The Vols are the 5-seed in the SEC Tournament, while the Tigers are the 12-seed. A win for Auburn may be enough to push it into the NCAA Tournament, while a loss would leave the Tigers holding their breath on Selection Sunday.
Ament enters the game averaging 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He is shooting 41.4% from the field and 32.8% from range. He is expected to be a top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft.
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