Duke Basketball: Jon Scheyer Falls Short in Big-Time Recruiting Race
The Duke basketball program probably won’t rank No. 1 in the 2025 cycle now that Nate Ament has committed elsewhere.
Duke basketball hosted Nate Ament several times, beginning with his unofficial visit to Durham back in September 2023. At many points throughout the 6-foot-10, 185-pound forward’s recruitment, Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils looked like the frontrunner. And there’s no doubt the program would have benefited from the Highland School (Va.) standout’s length and smooth repertoire on the court.
But in the end, Duke came up empty.
On Sunday evening, Ament announced his commitment to Tennessee basketball head coach Rick Barnes. He chose the Volunteers over the Blue Devils and his three other finalists in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Louisville.
Nate Ament, a five-star prospect, stacks up at No. 4 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite. He becomes the highest-ranked recruit to ever pledge allegiance to Tennessee.
Meanwhile, third-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his crew still enjoy three five-star signees, one of the top-ranked 2025 hauls in the country. However, given Ament’s decision and the fact that only a couple of five-star seniors remain on the board, it’s highly unlikely that the collection will end up at No. 1, where the Blue Devil recruiters have finished in two of the past three years.
Matt Giles is the editor and publisher of Duke Blue Devils on SI, North Carolina Tar Heels on SI, and NC State Wolfpack on SI, making him a key source for comprehensive coverage of these storied
The 2025 Duke basketball haul sat atop the national rankings for several months after growing to four five-star prizes just in time for the early signing period in November.
Now, according to composite scores from a collection of recruiting sites, the three-deep group of incoming Duke basketball rookies appears at No. 3 in the country, trailing Arizona and new No. 1 Houston, the program that defeated Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils in the Final Four two weeks ago.
