KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Two members of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team, Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie, are on the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy College Player of the Year Watch List, as announced Monday afternoon.
Ament and Gillespie are among 50 selections to the prestigious preseason list. There are 12 total picks from the SEC, while Ament is one of eight freshmen nationally who made the cut.
Each player was previously tabbed a Preseason Second Team All-SEC designee by both the media and the coaches. Ament and Gillespie also both made the Naismith Starting 5 list for their respective positions, with the former on the Julius Erving Award Top 20 Preseason Watch List and the latter on the Bob Cousy Award Top 20 Preseason Watch List.
Additionally, Ament was one of just 20 players in the country selected for the NABC Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.
A 6-foot-10, 207-pound forward, Ament is the third top-five recruit in Tennessee history. He was a unanimous top-four prospect who placed as high as second overall in the On3 rankings. The Manassas, Va., native averaged 19.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game last season as a senior at Highland School, guiding his team to the VISAA Division I state crown and a final ledger of 42-8.
Gillespie is a 6-foot-1, 188-pound senior guard who hails from Greeneville, Tenn. He was a Third Team All-Big Ten selection last year at Maryland from both the media and the league’s coaches. There, he averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 31.6 minutes per game, while shooting 45.3 percent overall, 40.7 percent on 3-pointers and 86.2 percent on free throws. His play log their most wins and fist Sweet 16 trip since 2016.
Ament, Gillespie and No. 18/17 Tennessee open the regular season Monday at 7 p.m. when they host Mercer, live on SEC Network+ from Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
