Five-Star Forward Nate Ament Nears Commitment Decision, Louisville and Duke Lead Race

The Highland High School star, ranked No. 4 nationally, weighs offers from Louisville, Duke, and Kentucky as his recruitment enters its final stages

Five-star prospect Nate Ament at the NCAA college basketball game between Tennessee Kentucky on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the majority of the 2025 basketball recruiting class finalizes commitments, one of the nation’s top prospects remains undecided.

Nate Ament, a 6-foot-9, 185-pound forward from Highland High School in Virginia, is ranked No. 4 nationally and is considered the No. 2 power forward in his class. With elite programs vying for his commitment, his decision appears to be down to Louisville, Duke, and Kentucky, with Louisville currently leading the race.

Ament, who received a Louisville offer on April 23, 2024, visited the Cardinals on Oct. 12 before making stops at Tennessee (Oct. 19), Notre Dame (Nov. 9), Duke (Jan. 31), and Kentucky (Feb. 11). While Kentucky remains in the mix, it has fallen to a third option behind Duke, whose strong developmental track record makes it a serious contender.

Ament has been a target for all of those schools for a while now visiting them all. Reports have started to circulate that he is weeks away from commitment, but which team is the leader?

As of now that team as of now seems to be the Louisville Cardinals, who offered the five-star prospect on April 23rd, 2024. Since that offer he has visited the Cardinals, taking his official visit on October 12th. This was quickly followed by an official visit to Tennessee on October 19th, Notre Dame on November 9th, Duke on January 31st and Kentucky on February 11th.

Kentucky has made progress but has started to become more of a third option. The second option also looks to be Duke which has made a strong case in his recruitment, with some believing the Blue Devils could now be the favorites. Duke’s track record speaks for itself, which is a big selling point, while Louisville is going all in on the talented forward.

247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein released his evaluation on July 7th, 2024 which labels him as one of the best long-term prospects in the country.

"Ament is one of the best long-term prospects in the country. He's an immense talent and still in the early stages of putting it all together. He has good positional size for a face-up forward at over 6-foot-9 with an elastic body type, albeit a relatively modest 6-foot-11 wingspan. He's a fluid mover, plus athlete, and has tremendous natural hands and touch, which are the foundation of his developing skill-set," Finkelstein said.

"While not completely polished, Ament shows real potential as both a handler and a shooter. He posted 47/42/90 shooting splits in the 3SSB season. He has a high release and soft touch with range that extends out to the three-point line, and yet is still learning to get consistently balanced in his lower body. The ball hits his hand incredibly softly when he puts it on the floor, and he's starting to show more creativity off the bounce as well. There are even some very real flashes of floor vision and passing ability, with both hands."

So what does Ament currently lack in his game?

"The most glaring limitation in Ament's game right now is a lack of strength and sheer force. His naturally wiry frame is only just beginning to fill out. He also tends to play a bit upright, raising his center of gravity, which makes it that much easier for him to get bumped or angled off the line of his drive. Right now, Ament can also struggle to finish through contact in a high-level game. Despite that, he shows a real ability to get his own shot off," said Finkelstein.

"In addition to that physical maturation, we're also just starting to see the first signs of an alpha mentality in Ament. He's come up the ranks as someone who was content to blend in and rarely looked to really assert himself. Now, we're gradually starting to see him get more assertive, and the expectation is that could come in correlation with the progression of his body. Even defensively, we're seeing him fly around more and make more plays off the ball."

What can he improve over time and what is the final conclusion on Ament?

"What's glaring about Ament is just how much potential he has to get better. He needs to get stronger, keep getting more aggressive, and polish all aspects of his skill set, but all the tools are in place for him to evolve into a skilled and smooth 6-foot-9-plus perimeter forward who is a true three-range scoring threat. The bottom line on Ament is that there may be some five-star prospects who are more capable of dominating a game today, but he has as high a long-term upside as potentially anyone in the class."

Ament could still find ways to trend towards Notre Dame and Tennessee, however, it seems more unlikely than not. Ament is likely to make a decision between Louisville and Duke with Kentucky still being in play.

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More From This Author (Caleb Sisk)

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