Cayden Boozer, Cam Wilder, Mia Pauldo & others react as Nate Ament becomes Tennessee's highest ranked recruit

Modified Apr 21, 2025 18:29 GMT

Nate Ament became the highest-ranked Tennessee Volunteers recruit after the 6-foot-9 small forward made his commitment to the Vols on Sunday.

Ament, who is ranked as the No. 4 recruit in the Class of 2025, as per On3's Industry Rankings, became their seventh five-star prospect under coach Rick Barnes and the first since the 2022 class.

Ament announced his much-awaited decision through an Instagram post:

"After a lot of thought and prayer, I’m blessed to announce my commitment to the University of Tennessee! I’m incredibly grateful to all the coaches and programs who took the time to recruit me. Huge thanks to everyone who’s helped me get to this point — my family, coaches, teammates and most importantly, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," he wrote.

The post saw comments from top high school basketball players, including Duke Blue Devils signee Cayden Boozer, Cam Wilder and Tennessee signees Mia and Mya Pauldo:

-Cayden Boozer, Cam Wilder, Mia Pauldo & others react as Nate Ament becomes Tennessee's highest-ranked recruit (Image: IG/ament_natet)

"YAYYYYy," "OH IGHHH🧡🧡," Mia Pauldo commented twice.

Cayden Boozer commented, "Congrats twin🤞🏾."

Wilder also congratulated Ament, "congrats g !"

Mya Pauldo also added two comments, "YASSSSSS 🧡🧡🧡🧡," "i told uuuu."

Acaden Lewis commented, "Nasty nateeee."

Vols player Cade Philips also added, "Let’s get it brudda."

"Yurrr," commented another Tennesse player Bishop Boswell.

Northwester signee Jake West added, ''yeah brother❤️"

"congrats bro," Chris Cenac congratulated Ament.

Three-time NBA Sixth Man Jamal Crawford reacted with five fire emojis and a hands joining emoji.

Washington signee JJ Mandaquit also commented, "Congrats bro 🙏🏽."

Nate Ament chose the Volunteers over the Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, Arkansas Razorbacks and Louisville Cardinals. He took his official visit to the Vols on Oct. 19.

Why did Nate Ament choose Tennessee?

Nate Ament is ranked as the second-best small forward and the best player in Virginia. He spoke about his decision to join the Vols with ESPN, commending coach Rick Barnes:

"Coach (Rick) 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."

Ament will be joined by Amari Evans, Dewayne Brown and Troy Henderson next season.

About the author

Pranav Khatri is a high school sports journalist at Sportskeeda with a Master's in Sports Management and five years of experience in the field working with InsideSport, EssentiallySports, TwelfthManTimes, SportSavour, GeeksforGeeks.

Pranav is a football and basketball fan, and played both in college. He got into basketball and became a Dallas Mavericks fan due to Dirk Nowitzki's loyalty. His favorite NBA moment was Dallas defeating winning the championship, and their journey to the finals through the Lakers and OKC.

When not watching or writing about sports, Pranav runs a fashion jewelry business.

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