PORTLAND, Ore. — Now that Nate Ament has committed to play basketball next season at Tennessee, tipping the Vols’ 2025-26 roster from good to great, elated fans should seriously consider sending a thank you note to his older brother Frederick.
Twenty-year-old Frederick can’t take credit for Nate’s 6-foot-9 height or his skill set (the forward is ranked No. 4 in the 2025 class). But he is the one who first convinced Nate to consider leaving soccer behind in favor of basketball. And now, Tennessee is set to reap the benefits of that switch.
When Ament committed on April 20 to Rick Barnes and the Vols, it catapulted Tennessee up the team recruiting rankings, from No. 41 to No. 13, according to 247Sports. He is the highest-ranked recruit in Vols history, a coup of sorts for Barnes given that Duke and Louisville were thought to be Ament’s front-runners (he was also considering Arkansas and Kentucky). Specifics of Ament’s NIL deal at Tennessee aren’t public. He signed an NIL deal with Reebok as a high schooler and signed an NIL equity deal with Fanstake, which allows fans to invest in the recruitment of prospects.
Is Nate’s position as a potential future NBA lottery pick with his long, lean frame, smooth jumper and tremendous upside all due to … his big brother?
Nate sighed dramatically before dipping his chin to his chest. He’d just played 11 minutes in the esteemed Nike Hoop Summit, an annual showcase event where dozens of league general managers and front office executives scout the next generation of NBA talent. He’d dished two assists, grabbed a rebound and blocked a shot in his limited time, a glimpse at his ability to impact a game even if he’s not scoring, as the U.S. beat the World Team 124-114 in overtime.
“It hurts my pride to give him too much credit,” Nate acknowledged, obviously reluctant. “But, yeah. I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
Frederick guffawed at the idea that he’s responsible for his little brother’s meteoric rise through the high school basketball ranks. Then he gave a big smile. He’s OK with getting credit so long as everyone understands that in soccer, big brother is still superior.
Soccer was the first love for all four Ament boys growing up in Warrenton, Va., about an hour outside Washington D.C. Oldest brother Manny Ament, now 27, played the sport at Division-III Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., 20 miles north of Richmond.
When they were little, the boys’ soccer schedules overlapped so much the Ament parents had to build an elaborate spreadsheet showing which child needed to be dropped off (and picked up) where and when, and even then, the boys wanted to tag along to each other’s practices. They couldn’t get enough.
