Tennessee Vols freshman forward Nate Ament officially declared for the 2026 NBA Draft on Thursday.

Ament, a former five-star recruit, averaged 16.7 points per game this past season.

“I want to dedicate this post to my Vol family,” wrote Ament in a post on Instagram. “Your guys’ love and support is a huge reason I have this opportunity. It’s because of you guys that I was able to grow. Y’all stuck with me through the bad games and the good. I promise to always represent the Vols with the utmost pride. This university means more to me than just basketball — to me it’s a place I call home. I might’ve only been here a year but I’ll remember this year for the rest of my life.”

Is there still a chance that Nate Ament returns to Tennessee for his sophomore season?

Ament has until May 27 to withdraw from the NBA Draft and retain his college eligibility.

So is that an option that’s on the table for Ament?

VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs addressed that question during an appearance Friday on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will.

“I don’t think Nate Ament is going to pull his name out (of the draft),” said Hubbs. “I mean, you heard Rick Barnes yesterday at his press conference. He basically was like, ‘He has to go, he’s crazy if he doesn’t go.’

“Tennessee has people in their program who have great ties to the NBA, who spent a long time in the NBA. I think Tennessee can do a great job of getting accurate research on where things are and not get caught up in the mock drafts. And based on Rick Barnes’ comments yesterday, it feels like the feedback that they have gotten, not through the media, but through their direct conversations with NBA people, is that Nate Ament is going to be a solid lottery pick. Going somewhere between probably No. 8 and No. 12, maybe between No. 8 and No. 14. And as Rick Barnes said yesterday, he needs to go. Because why would you not go at that point in time?

“There’s some thought that ‘Hey, if you’re the 14th pick, you can come back for a year, and then you could go in the top five in the next draft and make more money that way.’ I just think that the encouragement around Nate’s team has been, ‘Listen, this was the plan all along — you’re where you need to be, go get drafted, and let’s start your career.’ So I don’t think Nate will be wishy-washy on it. Unless something just crazy happens, it feels like there’s not really any shot that he pulls himself out of the draft, unless something crazy happens here over the next couple of weeks.”

As Hubbs noted, Barnes spoke to reporters on Thursday before Ament announced his decision.

“The fact of the matter is, I don’t see how he can’t go to the NBA because I think he’s one of the top players in the country,” said Barnes. “But I think everybody thinks there’s this long, drawn out (decision). You go through the process and gather all the information you can. He will do that, and he’s going to make the right decision.

“But personally, I think I already know what the decision is, because I know how good of a basketball player he is. But only the good Lord knows for certain. But again, you go through the process and that’s what he’s doing. And his agency, they’re doing their deal and they’re going to get all the facts they need, and they’ll go from there.”

College basketball can be unpredictable, but it sounds extremely unlikely that Ament will pull his name out of the draft and return to Knoxville for another season.