Duke Basketball May Trail Fellow ACC School for Five-Star Nate Ament

The longtime 2025 Duke basketball target is in the homestretch of his recruitment.

Duke basketball recruiting target Nate Ament | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Highland School (Va.) forward Nate Ament visited the Duke basketball program in early February, watching from behind the bench as the Blue Devils defeated archrival UNC in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Plus, the 6-foot-9, 185-pound five-star was on hand for the blueblood's ACC Tournament championship win on Saturday night.

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Speaking of the conference title bout, though, Ament pulled up courtside in Charlotte's Spectrum Center to check out both Duke and another of his finalists, Louisville.

And according to the latest intel courtesy of HS Top Recruits on Thursday morning, most sources "feel like Louisville is the 'leader' and have offered a large amount of NIL."

Reached out about Nate Ament the last couple of days. Most feel like Louisville is the “leader” and have offered a large amount of NIL.

— HS Top Recruits (@HSTopRecruiting) March 20, 2025

Ament, the highest-ranked uncommitted high school senior at No. 4 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite and eyeing a potential April 1 decision date, is down to a top five of Duke, Louisville, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

As things stand, Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer enjoys the third top-ranked recruiting haul across his four cycles at the helm in Durham. His 2025 collection consists of four five-star talents: guard Cayden Boozer, forward Cameron Boozer, forward Shelton Henderson, and forward Nik Khamenia.

Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball recruiting news.