Nate Ament is the No. 4 overall recruit in the class of 2025, and the Louisville Cardinals are one of five programs in his final five schools. The top five teams include Duke, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Louisville.
Ament was supposed to announce his commitment before the McDonald's All-American game last week on April 1, but the unanimous 5-star recruit pushed back his commitment announcement to an unknown date and has the Cardinals fans anxiously waiting. It was reported on April 1 that Arkansas and Duke jumped ahead of Louisville and are the new frontrunners.
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However, that report came out right before Pat Kelsey and Louisville basketball made a pitch to Nate Ament that is nearly impossible to turn down.
Nate Ament is Louisville basketball's final piece for National Championship quest
Kelsey secured commitments from three of the transfer portal's top 10 players, including Adrian Wooley, the portal's No. 3 overall player and a 5-star prospect. Louisville's offseason is ranked No. 1 in the nation by 247Sports and has the third-best odds to win the 2026 National Championship.
The Cardinals addressed their glaring shooting concern and are immediately one of the top favorites to win the National Championship. Louisville earned commitments from Isaac McKneely, Ryan Conwell, and Wooley, with all three players shooting above 40 percent from the 3-point line last season.
The Cardinals' newcomers will play along with a 5-star commitment from DME Academy, Mikel Brown Jr. Louisville's backcourt is set, and it is projected to be one of the best in the nation. Kelsey and his Cardinals now need an elite stretch four who can play the power forward with these elite shooters, and Ament is the perfect fit for this need.
Kelsey's offseason is a massive pitch to Ament, and they are one piece away from their National Championship quest. Louisville has yet to land a power forward in the transfer portal, the glaring hole in their lineup. Louisville is expected to run a small lineup with Conwell at the small forward, and if Louisville can add Ament, he is the final piece to lift this team above Duke and Houston.
Ament would bring elite playmaking as he can score at the highest level at 6-foot-9 and 185 pounds. The 5-star recruit averaged 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, and 3.7 assists per game and is ranked as the second-best power forward in 2025. Ament can shoot from anywhere on the floor, and can be that elite stretch four the Cardinals desperately need.
The potential lineup of Brown, Wooley, Conwell, Ament, and Pryor is not only a National Championship lineup but would dominate college basketball. Kelsey's offseason isn't done yet, and he is a mastermind building for Ament to commit.
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Ament would fit perfectly in this Cardinals lineup, and it seems more evident every day that Kelsey is building a dream lineup to convince Ament to play for the Cardinals. This offseason has been an enormous success, but with the Cardinals' desperate need for an elite stretch four in the power forward position, Kelsey is ahead of the curve and is pitching a lineup to Ament that he can't turn down.
Stay tuned for all the latest on Nate Ament and Louisville basketball's offseason.