How Rick Barnes, Tennessee landed historic recruit in five-star Nate Ament

Tennessee football has been in the news lately because of the drama surrounding former starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, but don't let that distract from what Rick Barnes and the Volunteers' men's basketball program is building.

Tennessee went 30-8 this past season and 12-6 in the stacked SEC. The Vols then made a run through the NCAA Tournament all the way to the Elite Eight before losing to No. 1-seed Houston.

It was a tremendous run for Barnes and the Vols, and they're now following that up with big news on the recruiting trail. Late Sunday evening, the Volunteers picked up a commitment from Nate Ament, a five-star power forward from Warrenton, Virginia.

Ranked by 247Sports as the consensus No. 2 power forward recruit in the 2025 class and the No. 4 overall player in the nation, Ament committed to Tennessee, specifically, to play for Barnes.

Tennessee's head coach has also pumped him with confidence.

"Rick Barnes wants me to come in and take what's mine. He wants me to be Naismith Player of the Year and all of that," Ament told 247Sports. "He's done it before with Kevin Durant and he's had Chaz Lanier and Dalton Knecht. So, [he's had] tremendous success with individual players."

Barnes has been coaching college ball since 1978. He had a long run at Texas from 1998 to 2015 — where he coached Kevin Durant and others  — and he's done a great job in his now 10 seasons at Tennessee. The Vols have made the NCAA Tournament in seven of his 10 seasons.

They're now a threat to do it again with the addition of Ament because he should quickly become one of the best players in college basketball. Ultimately, he will be an NBA prospect.

"That kid has the tools to be as good as he wants to be," an NBA Eastern Conference scout told 247Sports. "He needs to get stronger and handle physicality better, but he's a big time mover with skill, versatility and should be a major weapon once he settles in under Barnes."

Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky and Louisville were reportedly also in the running for Ament's commitment.