Five-star forward Nate Ament commits to Tennessee

Perhaps the best uncommitted target in the 2025 high school class is finally off the board. In a whirlwind recruitment, Tennessee remained a steady contender for top-five recruit Nate Ament. Rick Barnes has just finished off one of the biggest recruiting wins of his career.

The potential one-and-done will call Rocky Top home during the 2025-26 college basketball season.

NEWS: 5⭐️ Nate Ament, On3’s No. 3 overall recruit in the country, has committed to Tennessee.

The 6-9 small forward chooses the Vols over Arkansas, Louisville, Kentucky, and Duke.

Massive news for Rick Barnes. https://t.co/UwnmjWqLy3 pic.twitter.com/SXswpEnfMO

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 20, 2025

“Coach Barnes sees me as a one-and-done type player,” Ament told ESPN. “He has done it before with Kevin Durant. He sees me as that kind of guy for his program. I built a great relationship with the coaching staff. I trust them a lot, and they have big goals for me. I think they’ll do a great job of developing me as a player and a young man. I trust the coaches to help me get to the next level.”

“This was a very hard decision,” Ament said. “It took me a little longer than most. I wanted to make sure it was the right fit.”

Nate Ament will give the Vols a true building block in what could be a reset season with star point guard Zakai Zeigler moving on from the program. The star high school recruit will join Maryland point guard transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Vanderbilt big transfer Jaylen Carey in Knoxville.

The SEC is again expected to be quite the basketball league after a historic 2024-25 season.

Kentucky Basketball 2025-26 Roster Tracker

COMMITS (5)

• Kam Williams – G – Tulane – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
• Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
• Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
• Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8
• Andrija Jelavic – C – Mega Basket — 10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50.3% FG, 32.3% 3PT | – Committed 4/12

RETURNING / INCOMING (7)

• Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT | Going through NBA Draft process
• Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9% | Confirmed return on 4/12
• Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/17
• Travis Perry – PG – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.6 APG, 31.3% FG, 32.1% 3PT
• Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/18
• Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
• Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)

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