BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Rwandan-American basketball prospect Nate Ament has officially made his mark on the NBA. The 19-year-old University of Tennessee standout was selected No. 13 overall in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night. Initially picked by the Miami Heat, Ament’s draft rights were swiftly traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called the 2.08m (93 kg) forward’s name at 9:31 p.m. ET (3:31 a.m. Kigali Time) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, broadcast live on ABC and ESPN.
Born in the United States to a Rwandan mother and an American father, Ament—who also holds Italian citizenship through his mother—represents a proud moment for the Rwandan diaspora.
His selection makes him the joint-sixth-highest draftee in Tennessee history and the program’s top draftee since Marcus Haislip went No. 13 overall in 2002. Ament is the ninth top-15 pick for the Volunteers, as well as the 13th in the first round and the 17th in the top 30. He is the 58th player drafted out of Tennessee overall.
Ament dazzled during his lone season on Rocky Top. He averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. Starting all 35 games in which he appeared, he amassed 584 points, marking the third-most by a Tennessee freshman in history. His stellar performance earned him Second Team All-SEC accolades from both the media and the league’s head coaches. He was also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, the NABC First Team All-Central District, and was one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Award.
A native of Manassas, Virginia, Ament was a consensus five-star recruit in the 2025 class. He initially attended Colgan High School before transferring to the Highland School in Warrenton, Virginia. At Highland, he dominated with averages of 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, and 3.7 assists per game. During his senior year, he secured a shoe deal with Reebok, was named the 2024–2025 Virginia Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year, and played in the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game before committing to Tennessee over Duke, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisville.
Ament is the 36th NBA Draft choice to play for Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes. Across his 39 years as a head coach, Barnes has seen a total of 48 of his players reach the NBA. Ament is Barnes’ fifth one-and-done freshman selected in the draft and the highest-drafted player of that specific group, surpassing Tobias Harris (No. 19 in 2011).
This marks the seventh time in the last eight years that at least one Volunteer has been picked in the NBA Draft, and the sixth consecutive year. The Bucks, who are acquiring Ament via trade, have a history of drafting Volunteers, having previously selected Marcus Haislip and Ernie Grunfeld.
