Louisville '25 Target Nate Ament Announces College Decision

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Apr 20, 2025 7:02 PM ET

The long and winding recruitment of Nate Ament has finally come to an end, although it is not one that has ended in favor of the Louisville men's basketball program.

The five-star forward from Warrenton (Va.) Highland School, who was the top remaining uncommitted prospect in the Class of 2025, announced Sunday that he has given his verbal pledge to Tennessee. He chose the Vols over Louisville, Kentucky, Duke and Arkansas.

Ament choosing UT comes as a bit of a surprising development, as Louisville and Duke had been viewed as the front runners for the bulk of his recruitment. Prior to him postponing his original commitment date of the McDonald's All-American Game on Apr. 1, the Cardinals were actually considered by many to be the favorite here.

Regardless, not winning the Ament sweepstakes certainly stings a bit, especially considering that Pat Kelsey had been recruiting him essentially since he got the UofL head coaching job. The 6-foot-9, 185-pound small/power forward ranks as the No. 4 recruit nationally according to the 247Sports Composite. He's a consensus top-five prospect by all four of the major recruiting services.

Even with this development, Louisville has still had a great offseason when it comes to roster construction. The Cardinals have landed transfer guards Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely and Adrian Wooley, all of whom rank inside the top-20 of the On3 Industry Ranking. Louisville also sports a pair of commitments in the 2025 cycle in five-star Daytona Beach (Fla.) DME Academy point guard Mikel Brown Jr., and four-star German forward Sananda Fru.

Louisville is coming off of a successful year one under Kelsey. The Cardinals went 27-8 overall, winning more games than over the previous three seasons combined, resulting in Kelsey winning ACC Coach of the Year. UofL made their return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 - although it resulted in a first round exit to Creighton.