CHICAGO — Tennessee basketball’s season came to an end in the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season Sunday. The loss concluded what is expected to be Vols star freshman Nate Ament’s lone campaign on Rocky Top.
Ament is projected as a lottery pick in this summer’s 2026 NBA Draft. He’s expected to announce he is turning pro in the coming weeks. The 6-foot-10 forward wasn’t ready to talk about his decision, however, in the wake of No. 6-seed Tennessee’s 95-62 loss to No. 1 Michigan.
“Nah, nah,” Ament responded when asked if he has a timeline for when he would like to announce his decision of whether to turn pro. “I really don’t look ahead. I just want to be here with my teammates right now.”
Michigan held Ament to seven points in what was likely his final game as a Vol. Ament shot 2-of-12 overall and missed all three of his attempts from three. He added six rebounds, two assists and a block in 31 minutes after dealing with foul trouble in the first half.
The Wolverines ran away with the game when they went on a 27-4 run midway through the opening frame to kill Tennessee’s dreams of reaching the Final Four for the first time in program history.
“It sucks,” Ament said. “We just didn’t execute as good as we planned to. So, you know, we kind of let the game slip out of our hands by not really doing our job to the best of our ability.”
Ament finished second on the Vols in scoring this season at 16.7 points per game and tied senior forward Felix Okpara in rebounding with 6.3 boards per contest. The rookie finished second in blocks (22) and minutes (29.8), and third in assists (82) and offensive rebounds (90). Ament played in 35 of Tennessee’s 37 games to shoot 39.9% overall, 33.3% from behind the three-point line and 79% at the free-throw line. He started every game he played with the Vols.
The Manassas, Va. native is a finalist for the Julius Erving Award, which is awarded to the best small forward in college basketball each season. Ament is also one of 25 finalists for Kyle Macy Award, given annually to the premier freshman in the nation. He was named to the All-SEC Second Team and All-SEC Freshman Team for his performance during the regular season.
“It was a great year,” Ament said. “It was one of the greatest years of my life, and appreciate everyone involved with me. The fans, my teammates, the coaches.”
The 2026 NBA Draft will be held in June, while the lottery will take place May 10 and the draft combine will be May 10-17 in Chicago. The entry deadline for early entrants is typically in late April, with a withdrawal deadline to retain NCAA eligibility usually falling in late May.