Kentucky freshman guard De'Aaron Fox will hire an agent and declare for the NBA draft, the school announced Monday.
Fox averaged 16.7 points, 4.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds in his only season at Kentucky, leading the Wildcats to an SEC title and an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
Fox became the first freshman to lead the SEC in assists since John Wall, who accomplished the feat for Kentucky in 2009-10.
ESPN's Chad Ford has Fox at No. 5 in his Top 100 draft prospects, projecting him as a lottery pick.
"First of all, I'm grateful for the unbelievable season we had," Fox said in a statement released by the school. "Although the ending didn't turn out how we wanted it to, this team came together as a family and we achieved things that a lot of people didn't think we could because we were so young.
"I want to thank my teammates for being on this ride with me as well as the seniors and specifically Zay (Isaiah Briscoe) for guiding me this season. It wouldn't have been such a smooth transition from high school to college without their leadership."
Fox also thanked John Calipari and the coaching staff before announcing, "I've decided to enter the 2017 NBA draft and I will be signing with an agent. I think I've had a pretty good freshman season through the guidance of our coaching staff and I think it's time for me to live out my dream."
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.