Nate Ament, ESPN 100’s No. 4-ranked prospect, was featured in the most recent episode of the Youngins podcast, released on Tuesday. In the podcast, the five-star prospect discussed his NIL deal, recruitment process, and basketball journey, particularly in his last year of high school.

When asked how things have changed in the past year of high school basketball, Ament made it clear that he’s not moved by outside noise and stays grounded in the present rather than worrying about the future:

“A lot has changed … obviously with some of the deals I’ve done and some of the basketball I’ve played, but … there’s just a level of peace to everything I do and how I’m acting because for me, I’m not focused on the future, what’s coming ahead — I try to focus on the present every day.” (15:33-15:53)

Ament credited his inner circle for keeping him grounded and ensuring he stays focused on his work and faith. He said:

“I have a great circle around me, of course Derek (Nate’s agent), my family, my trainers and coaches, so having them in my circle, keeping me grounded, making sure I’m doing my workouts every day.” (16:08-16:16)

“It does get really tough because you get excited with a lot of things coming down the road, the possibilities that could come, but they always remind me that those things won’t come if I don’t just keep my head down, work hard and trust God.” (16:16-16:25)

Uncommitted five-star prospect Nate Ament names top five schools ahead of college decision

In the same podcast, Nate Ament, currently the highest-rated uncommitted recruit, outlined his top five schools: Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisville:

“I got a group of schools that I really want to focus in on and … put my attention towards for the remaining of this recruiting season before I choose my college, those schools being Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisville.” (21:32-21:58)

“These are just the schools that I felt I could see myself playing at and want to give all my attention towards.”

A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer are the only players ranked ahead of Nate Ament in the ESPN 100, all of whom have either committed or signed.