KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Nate Ament of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is on the NABC National Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, as released Thursday morning.
A 6-foot-10, 207-pound forward from Manassas, Va., Ament is among just 20 selections nationwide. He is among four freshmen who made the cut, alongside Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson. Those four were also the only freshmen selected Blue Ribbon Yearbook Preseason All-Americans.
There are four other SEC competitors on the list alongside Ament: Florida’s Alex Condon, Kentucky’s Otega Oweh, Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford and Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr.
Ament was named Wednesday to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List. He was previously announced as a Preseason Second Team All-SEC selection.
A unanimous top-four recruit who placed as high as second overall in the On3 rankings, Ament is the third top-five signee in Tennessee history. He averaged 19.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game last season as a senior at Highland School, leading his team to a 42-8 record and a VISAA Division I state championship.
Ament and No. 18/17 Tennessee begin the regular season Monday at 7 p.m. when they host Mercer at Food City Center, live on SEC Network+.
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.
NABC PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Nate Ament, Tennessee
Cameron Boozer, Duke
Alex Condon, Florida
Donovan Dent, UCLA
A.J. Dybantsa, BYU
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s
P.J. Haggerty, Kansas State
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Alex Karaban, Connecticut
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech
Milos Uzan, Houston
Darrion Williams, NC State
