While the 2024-25 college basketball regular season is nearing its end, there are still three five-star recruits in the 2025 class who remain uncommitted; Brayden Burries, Koa Peat, and the No. 4 overall recruit in the class, Nate Ament.
Ament recently took a visit to Lexington as many expect his recruitment to come down to Duke and Kentucky. However, the Wildcats former head coach is making a late charge for the 6-foot-9 forward from Warrenton, Virginia.
While John Calipari is struggling on the floor in his first season as leading the Arkansas Razorbacks, Coach Cal is still dominating on the recruiting trail. Arkansas has the fifth-ranked class in 2025 with two five-star recruits, Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas, and four-star Isaiah Sealy, but he may not be done yet.
Nate Ament is absolutely COOKING tonight.
— Capitol Hoops (@CapitolHoops) February 18, 2025
With John Calipari sitting court side Ament currently has more points than the Clinton Grace team. @NateAment15 @Highland_Hoops pic.twitter.com/M4Awr47j2w
On Monday night, Calipari visited the five-star’s high school game. With the national championship-winning head coach sitting courtside, Ament reportedly put on a show with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks.
Calipari has his hands full preparing the Razorbacks for a Wednesday night matchup at No. 1 Auburn after suffering a 69-61 loss to No. 8 Texas A&M on Saturday. At 15-10 with a 4-8 record in conference play, the Razorbacks are firmly on the bubble for ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lundari who has Coach Cal’s team in his “last four in.”
Despite having a tournament bid potentially on the line across the final six games of the regular season, Calipari is prioritizing Ament, who would add plenty of excitement for Year 2 of the Coach Cal era in Fayetteville. Still, Arkansas is likely third in the race for the five-star forward, still trailing Duke and Kentucky.
Talent acquisition has always been the name of the game for Calipari, and if he wants the Razorbacks to compete for an SEC title, he’ll need to land players like Ament on a consistent basis. This is his first big recruiting test for Cal at Arkansas, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can still punch with the Blue Bloods while wearing Razorbacks red.