Vols insider shares the latest on Tennessee forward Nate Ament’s looming NBA decision

Tennessee Vols forward Nate Ament has a big decision to make in the coming weeks.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
Tennessee Vols
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Tennessee Vols true freshman forward Nate Ament has a big decision to make in the coming days/weeks.

For most of the season, it was assumed that Ament, a former five-star recruit, would be one-and-done at Tennessee.

The feeling is that it’s still trending in that direction, but it’s not quite a certainty that Ament will declare for the 2026 NBA Draft. The Virginia native isn’t expected to be a top five selection, and some mock drafts even have Ament falling outside of the lottery.

“No, I really don’t want to look ahead,” said Ament after the Vols’ loss to Michigan in the Elite Eight when asked about his future. “Just want to be here with my team right now.”

Ament added that he’s going to talk with his coaches and his circle to see what his next step is going to be.

Vols Insider discusses Nate Ament’s future

VolQuest’s Austin Price joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Tuesday and was asked about Ament’s looming NBA decision.

“Well, I learned a long time ago to never say never,” said Price. “So I think anybody that just says nope would be fooling themselves. I do think it’s probably trending that he’s going to go pro. Where he is at in terms of [being a] projected lottery pick, that type of thing, that’s hard to pass up.

“Now, if you had enough GMs that said, ‘Look, if you went back to college with next year’s draft class being weaker, if you went and put on weight, you’re talking about this amount of money as a top three pick versus this amount of money this year as a 9 to 19 (overall pick).’ I still think it boils down to that’s been the plan the entire time — to go pro after one year at Tennessee. And I think it would take him and his family seeing a much bigger picture for him to potentially return to college. But again, I don’t want to say that it can’t happen, because it certainly can. I just think, again, it trends to be him going pro.”

There’s no doubt that Ament has loved his time at Tennessee. I don’t think this will be an easy decision for him either way.

Maybe the Vols can put together an NIL package that will entice Ament to stay for another season. As Price said, it’s certainly possible. But at the same time, passing up the NBA, which has likely been Ament’s lifelong dream, wouldn’t be easy.

Related Articles