TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WHNT) — Alabama junior guard and Muscle Shoals native Mark Sears announced on social media Saturday that he has declared for the NBA Draft, while keeping his NCAA eligibility.

“After much consideration and deliberation, I have decided to declare for the 2023 NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility,” Sears said.

By making this decision, Sears can visit with NBA teams and get feedback while still having the option to return to school for 2023-24.

Sears joined the Crimson Tide before the 2022-23 season after spending two years at Ohio. The junior transfer made an instant impact on Alabama, and ended up starting every game for Nate Oats.

He was Alabama’s second-leading scorer, behind only National Freshman of the Year Brandon Miller, who also declared for the NBA draft, and averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 40.6% from the field.

Now, Sears joins four other members of this year’s Crimson Tide who have already declared for the draft: Miller, Noah Clowney, Charles Bediako and Jahvon Quinerly.

Other Alabama players who might not return in 2023-24 include Noah Gurley, Dom Welch, Nimari Burnett and Jaden Bradley, who have all entered the transfer portal.

The early entry deadline for underclassmen declaring is April 23 and the deadline for those players to withdraw from the NBA draft and return to school is May 31.

The NBA draft is set for June 22 in Brooklyn, New York.