Just a year and a half ago, hardly anyone outside of Warrenton, Virginia, knew the name Nate Ament. Fast forward to today, and he’s one of the most exciting basketball prospects in the country — a top-5 national recruit in the class of 2025, a McDonald’s All-American, and now a committed Tennessee Volunteer with NBA buzz already swirling around his name.

But if you caught him at the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit, what stood out just as much as his silky jumper or explosive defense were the shoes on his feet — custom Reeboks bursting with the vibrant colors of the Rwandan flag. Light blue, yellow, green, and a golden sun.

That wasn’t just a design choice. That was a message. Ament wasn’t just playing for himself or even for Team USA. With each step, he was honoring someone — the person who shaped his worldview, fueled his drive, and stood beside him through every high and low. His mother.

“It’s a huge tribute to my mom,” Ament said. “It’s about her hard work, her sacrifices, and everything she’s been through. And it’s also for Rwanda — the country that means so much to both of us.”

Behind every breakout star is a deeper story — one of love, struggle, belief, and legacy. And for Ament, that story starts with family. So, who exactly are the people behind this rising star? Here’s everything you need to know about Nate Ament’s parents — and how their journey shaped one of the brightest young players in the game today.

Who are Nate Ament’s parents?

Basketball was always part of the blueprint. Nate Ament’s father, Albert Ament, wasn’t just a former player. A four-year standout who left such a mark on the program, he earned a place in the school’s athletic hall of fame. The game ran through his veins, and it wasn’t long before it started running through his son’s, too.

But Nate’s story isn’t just born from hardwood greatness — it’s also built on resilience, love, and global connection. His mother, Godlieve Mukankuranga. She met Albert during a very different kind of mission — one far from basketball courts and trophies. Albert had joined Catholic Relief Services and traveled to Rwanda to support humanitarian relief in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. 

That’s where their paths crossed: in a country healing from pain, two people from opposite sides of the world came together with a shared purpose — and eventually, a shared life.

Who is Nate Ament’s father Albert? Was he a professional basketball player?

Long before Rwanda became a defining chapter in his life story, Albert Ament was making headlines on the hardwood in Detroit. A dominant force at Wayne State University in Michigan, Albert didn’t just play college basketball — he left a legacy. He still holds the school’s single-season record for total points with 654, and he’s etched all over the record books: third in career field goal percentage, seventh in free throws made, tenth in rebounds, and eighteenth in points. By 2001, Wayne State inducted him into its Athletic Hall of Fame — a nod to just how special he was on the court.

“He was pretty good,” Nate Ament said with a grin. “I don’t think they had cameras back then. I don’t think they had a 3-point line. But being a Hall of Famer at any level, that’s hard. I got to see some of his pictures and articles when we visited Wayne State. I didn’t even know half that stuff.”

But Albert’s story didn’t stop at basketball. After graduating cum laude in English and earning a master’s in French, he turned his sights outward — way outward. Inspired by a cousin’s life-changing experience in the Peace Corps, Albert signed up, too. What followed was a journey that would stretch across continents. From teaching English in Chad, to training teachers in Madagascar, to serving humanitarian missions with Catholic Relief Services in Rwanda, Albert was chasing more than just a career. He was chasing purpose.

It was in Rwanda, during a post-genocide relief mission in the late 1990s, that Albert’s life changed again. There, he met a nurse named Godlieve Mukankuranga — and something clicked. Their connection began over shared values, a faith rekindled, and eventually, a life built together.

“I think I was delivering some boxes of medicine to the office where she worked,” Albert recalled. “She was a nurse, and eventually we started going to mass together. And then… it just happened. We got married, had four boys, and built a life.”

Godlieve later shared, “Albert came into my life and brought me back to church.” Albert chuckled at that: “That’s news to me. I’m going to talk to your brother about that. That’s good. That part of it I didn’t really know.”

Today, the former Wayne State star lives in Manassas, Virginia, where he teaches French at a local high school. But that steady base is exactly what gave Nate Ament the chance to chase his dreams.

Albert knows they were fortunate — able to afford club teams, training, and the tools Nate needed to grow. But it wasn’t just money. Nate poured himself into the game, always chasing ways to get better. After practices or long days, he’d still ask to hit the gym, determined to sharpen his craft. The dedication didn’t come from pressure — it came from passion.

That fire really lit up in 2019. That’s when Nate started training outside with his brother and close friends, and something clicked. The game wasn’t just fun anymore. It was his future.

Albert passed down the drive and the love for basketball. But the Ament story? It doesn’t end there. Because behind it all — holding everything together — is Nate’s mom, Godlieve. And her journey might be the most powerful of them all.

Who is Nate Ament’s mother, Godlieve Mukankuranga? Where is she from?

When Nate Ament committed to Duke, there wasn’t a dry eye in his family. But none were more moved than his mother, Godlieve Mukankuranga — a survivor, a nurse, and, in every sense of the word, a warrior.

Mukankuranga was born and raised in the Kicukiro District of Rwanda. She’s of Tutsi descent, a group that faced generations of discrimination under post-colonial rule. Like many others of her ethnicity, she was denied access to public education in Rwanda. The only way forward was private schooling, which was only possible when a UNICEF worker stepped in and offered her a chance to study in Pisa, Italy. She accepted, moved away, and earned her nursing degree there, completely unaware of the horrors unfolding back home.

Then came 1994. The genocide. In just 100 days, close to a million Tutsis were killed. Mukankuranga, thankfully, was still in Italy, but nearly all of her immediate family was gone. Her mother, siblings, uncles, and cousins — murdered. “They killed everybody,” she recalled. “Everything was completely finished and I was there [in Italy] by then.” She was later adopted by her host family in Pisa and became an Italian citizen — a blessing she refers to often. “Everything I have is from Italy.”

Still, even safety in Europe couldn’t erase the pain. In 1995, she returned to Rwanda to work as a nurse for UNICEF. She saw and heard things that would shake anyone — children raising their younger siblings after watching their parents murdered, entire families wiped out. But even in the face of all that loss, she found purpose. “I decided to be strong because, at end of the day, I was a very lucky one.”

Mukankuranga’s strength and work ethic left an impression on her son. Nate remembers her juggling three nursing jobs, coming home exhausted, and still making dinner for the family. “She really was never complaining,” he said. “From a young age, seeing my mom’s dedication and perseverance… just helped me have a deeper appreciation for all that she did for me.”

Faith, though, wasn’t easy to hold on to after the genocide. A devoted Catholic growing up, she questioned everything when the violence unfolded — especially knowing that many victims died in churches. “I say, ‘There is no God.’” But her path eventually brought her back, with the help of Nate’s father, Albert Ament, and the rekindling of her spiritual life during their time together in Rwanda and Italy.

Today, the family lives in Virginia, where Mukankuranga works as a nurse and remains the rock of her household. Her story is part of the foundation that shaped Nate, not just as a player, but as a person. And when the Ament family returned to Rwanda in 2016 and again in 2020, Nate connected more deeply with his roots. “From both visits, I just could remember myself crying my eyes out when I left because I was sad to leave my family,” he said. The beauty of Rwanda and the love of his extended family left a lasting imprint.

“She will do anything for those four boys,” said Albert Ament. “And they really love their mom.”

The Ament boys all grew up playing soccer. It was the family sport for a while — fast-paced, full of movement, and something all four brothers could do together. But for Nate, things started to shift when his older brother, Frederick, picked up a basketball. Watching Frederick navigate the court sparked something new in him. The more Nate watched, the more curious he became. Then came the growth spurt.

It wasn’t long before the soccer cleats gave way to high-tops, and the backyard turned into a proving ground for a different kind of footwork. With each inch he grew and each skill he sharpened, Nate began carving out his own path — one built on resilience, sacrifice, and a mother’s legacy that spans continents.