Tennessee freshman Nate Ament. Photo via Ryan Sylvia | Rocky Top Insider.
There’s been a lot to talk about regarding the Tennessee basketball team this offseason.
You’ve got the outgoing players such as Zakai Zeigler and Jordan Gainey, NBA Summer League storylines featuring Chaz Lanier and Jahmai Mashack, and, of course, the Vols’ new additions to the roster through recruiting and the transfer portal.
But one name that Tennessee fans have quickly become accustomed to is five-star freshman Nate Ament. The 6-foot-9 forward was the No. 4 overall prospect in 247Sports’ 2025 class rankings, but could have easily been the top-overall prospect if some things had been switched around. He’s a game-changing freshman and one who has even been named a contending player for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. According to 247’s rankings, Ament is the Vols’ highest-rated all-time commit in the recruiting rankings era.
With Tennessee gearing up to play in the Players Era Tournament in late November, the organization went back and re-surfaced a quote from head coach Rick Barnes at the time of Ament’s signing. While we knew the talent that Ament had at the time of the quote back in April, it stands out that much more after having seen some of his summer workouts and witnessed that talent translate to the Vols’ practice court.
“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.”
Barnes and the Tennessee staff worked hard on the recruiting trail to land Ament over Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, and Louisville. He was the best player in the class, in their minds.
“Standing out with next-level positional size, he possesses the rare combination of the ability to dribble, pass and shoot with confidence and precision,” Barnes continued in the press release. “Nate has a strong basketball IQ to go along with an excellent pairing of skill and toughness. He’s the kind of versatile talent who can impact the game in a variety of ways and, in our eyes, he was the No. 1 player in the class. We are thrilled to have him in orange.”
Though we haven’t been able to see all too much, Ament has been extremely impressive during summer workouts. He’s got the length and versatility to be an offensive phenom in the league. Ament would routinely knock down three-point shots where you’d look down at his feet and say, “Man, that’s NBA range, right there.”
He’s a cool, calm, and collected type of player. He doesn’t ever appear to be moving too fast or out of control, which is a big thing to say about a player who just arrived on the collegiate scene. Ament knows his strengths and figures out how to use them to put himself and his teammates in a position to succeed.
Fellow true freshman Amari Evans says that Ament’s skill set resembles that of a six-foot guard despite the fact that he’s only a few inches shorter than seven feet tall.
ESPN’s Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello put out a college basketball summer preview in late July with plenty of nods towards the rising Tennessee freshman on the list. The duo listed Ament as one of five players whom they see with a realistic chance to compete for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft.
Ament was also listed as one of the Top 10 impact freshmen in the game, which obviously goes hand-in-hand with his NBA Draft potential from the previous point.
“When Rick Barnes tells you that a young player will be a star, you should believe him,” Medcalf wrote. “From Kevin Durant to Dalton Knecht, Barnes has molded some of the top players in the country over the past 30 years. He recently told ESPN that Ament, a possible top-five pick in next year’s NBA draft, could be a special player this season. The 6-9 forward could be the next star under Barnes.”
While the season is still a decent bit away, Ament has been dealing with a minor wrist injury this summer, limiting him at times during practice. But it’s not one that concerns Barnes too much.
“If we were playing games, Nate would have played,” Barnes said of Ament’s minor injury. “We’ve done a lot with him. My idea with that is how do we play when Nate is not on the floor? How do we play when Ja’Kobi is not on the floor. How do we play if Felix is not on the floor? Again, I just said it, they all could have practiced, but we’ve chosen not to do that. We’re not alarmed by any of that. It’s just given us a chance to have some fun and play with different lineups.”