Two Tennessee men’s basketball players were named to the John R. Wooden Award Watch List.
Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie were named to the list, released Tuesday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. 50 players are on the list, including 14 players from the SEC. Ament is one of eight freshmen to make the list.
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Both players, who are in the midst of their first season with the Vols, earned Second-Team All-SEC preseason honors from media and SEC coaches.
Ament is also on the Julius Erving Award Top 20 Preseason Watch List, while Gillespie was named to the Bob Cousy Award Top 20 Preseason Watch List.
Ament is leading Tennessee (4-0) in scoring and rebounds through the Vols’ first four games of the 2025-26 season. He is also averaging 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.
Gillespie, a senior guard and Maryland transfer, is averaging 16.5 points, 6.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game this season. The Greeneville, Tennessee native has a .406 three-point percentage. Gillespie has scored 17-plus points in three games this season.
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Last year, he was a Third-Team All-Big Ten standout for the Terrapins. Gillespie previously played at Belmont for two seasons and was a Second-Team All-MVC for the Bruins as a sophomore. In his first season, he was named to the MVC all-freshman team.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Two Tennessee basketball players named to Wooden Award Watch List
