University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Ament Named a Julius Erving Award Finalist
March 11, 2026 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Freshman forward Nate Ament of the University of Tennessee men's basketball team is one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Award, as revealed Wednesday afternoon by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The annual Julius Erving Award, named after the Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 17-year professional basketball player, celebrates its 12th year by recognizing the top small forwards in Division I men's college basketball.
The other finalists are BYU's A.J. Dybantsa, Florida's Thomas Haugh, Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic and Texas' Dailyn Swain. Three are from the SEC and two are freshmen, with Ament among both groups.
Ament averaged 17.4 points, a team-best 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game across 29 appearances in the regular season, good for a top-10 mark in scoring and a top-15 mark in rebounding. He put up 19.0 points per game in SEC play, ninth-best in the league, while shooting 36.8 percent from deep and 80.2 percent at the stripe.
A Second Team All-SEC designee according to both the league's coaches and the Associated Press, Ament is the fourth freshman in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) to score 28-plus points at least four times in SEC play.
Ament has 19 outings with 16-plus points, including 10 with at least 20. He owns 24 five-rebound showings, including 14 with seven-plus rebounds. His 16 contests with at least 15 points and five rebounds put him co-second in the SEC.
A 6-foot-10, 207-pounder out of Manassas, Va., Ament ranks second in SEC in weekly honors for a freshman with seven, as well as second with six SEC Freshman of the Week plaudits. He is top-30 nationally (min. 20 GP) with 5.7 made free throws per game, with his 164 total makes already putting him one away from the top 10 on Tennessee's single-season list.
Additionally, Ament is one of 15 players on the Wayman Tisdale Award Midseason Watch List and one of 30 on the Naismith Trophy Late Season Team.
Later this month, the finalists will be presented to Erving and the Hall of Fame's selection committee, the latter of which is composed of top men's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2026 Julius Erving Award will be announced on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five. Additional honors include the Bob Cousy Award (point guard), Jerry West Award (shooting guard), Karl Malone Award (power forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center).
This is the third year in a row Tennessee has at least one finalist for a Men's Starting Five designation. Last year, Chaz Lanier won the Jerry West Award and Zakai Zeigler was a Bob Cousy Award finalist. In 2023-24, Dalton Knecht won the Julius Erving Award.
Ament and No. 25/RV Tennessee (21-10, 11-7 SEC) begin play Thursday at 3 p.m. ET in the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The fifth-seeded Volunteers will face either No. 12-seeded Auburn or No. 13-seeded Mississippi State, 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.
The annual Julius Erving Award, named after the Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 17-year professional basketball player, celebrates its 12th year by recognizing the top small forwards in Division I men's college basketball.
The other finalists are BYU's A.J. Dybantsa, Florida's Thomas Haugh, Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic and Texas' Dailyn Swain. Three are from the SEC and two are freshmen, with Ament among both groups.
Ament averaged 17.4 points, a team-best 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game across 29 appearances in the regular season, good for a top-10 mark in scoring and a top-15 mark in rebounding. He put up 19.0 points per game in SEC play, ninth-best in the league, while shooting 36.8 percent from deep and 80.2 percent at the stripe.
A Second Team All-SEC designee according to both the league's coaches and the Associated Press, Ament is the fourth freshman in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) to score 28-plus points at least four times in SEC play.
Ament has 19 outings with 16-plus points, including 10 with at least 20. He owns 24 five-rebound showings, including 14 with seven-plus rebounds. His 16 contests with at least 15 points and five rebounds put him co-second in the SEC.
A 6-foot-10, 207-pounder out of Manassas, Va., Ament ranks second in SEC in weekly honors for a freshman with seven, as well as second with six SEC Freshman of the Week plaudits. He is top-30 nationally (min. 20 GP) with 5.7 made free throws per game, with his 164 total makes already putting him one away from the top 10 on Tennessee's single-season list.
Additionally, Ament is one of 15 players on the Wayman Tisdale Award Midseason Watch List and one of 30 on the Naismith Trophy Late Season Team.
Later this month, the finalists will be presented to Erving and the Hall of Fame's selection committee, the latter of which is composed of top men's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2026 Julius Erving Award will be announced on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five. Additional honors include the Bob Cousy Award (point guard), Jerry West Award (shooting guard), Karl Malone Award (power forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center).
This is the third year in a row Tennessee has at least one finalist for a Men's Starting Five designation. Last year, Chaz Lanier won the Jerry West Award and Zakai Zeigler was a Bob Cousy Award finalist. In 2023-24, Dalton Knecht won the Julius Erving Award.
Ament and No. 25/RV Tennessee (21-10, 11-7 SEC) begin play Thursday at 3 p.m. ET in the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The fifth-seeded Volunteers will face either No. 12-seeded Auburn or No. 13-seeded Mississippi State, 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.
Players Mentioned
MBB | Amari Evans Media Availability (3.11.26)
Wednesday, March 11
MBB | Gregg Polinsky Media Availability (3.11.26)
Wednesday, March 11
MBB | DeWayne Brown II Media Availability (3.10.26)
Tuesday, March 10
MBB | Rick Barnes Media Availability (3.10.26)
Tuesday, March 10
