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UT RELEASE
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Nate Ament of the University of Tennessee men's basketball team is the SEC Freshman of the Week, as announced Monday afternoon by the league office.
A forward out of Manassas, Va., Ament collected the first such distinction of the season following the opening week of action.
Ament averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game across his first two collegiate outings. He shot 52.2 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from deep and 82.4 percent at the line.
The former consensus top-four recruit led all scorers in each of his first two games as a Volunteer, logging at least eight points and eight rebounds in both affairs.
To begin his career, Ament posted 18 points and nine rebounds in a 76-61 victory Monday night against Mercer. He became the fifth Tennessee freshman in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) to amass 18-plus points in a season opener.
Following that performance, Ament notched 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals Saturday in a dominant 95-56 triumph over Northern Kentucky. He became the sixth SEC freshman—the others are Reed Sheppard, Brandon Miller, Kennedy Chandler, Ben Simmons and James Young—in the last 20 years to post at least 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. He is also the third Tennessee player, alongside the aforementioned Chandler and Josiah-Jordan James, to hit those numbers in that two-decade stretch.
Ament is the first Tennessee player to win SEC Freshman of the Week since Julian Phillips did so on Jan. 23, 2023. He is the 16th individual—23rd total honor—to receive the plaudit since it was reinstated in 2005-06.
Nine different Volunteers have combined to rack up 11 total SEC Freshman of the Week distinctions in head coach Rick Barnes' 11-year tenure.
Ament and No. 20/18 Tennessee (2-0) resume competition Wednesday at 7 p.m., as they host North Florida at Food City Center, live on SEC Network+.
