Tennessee fans didn’t know what to expect when it was announced Tuesday morning that the school had called for a press conference for Grant Williams. Of course, the only two reasons were easy enough to figure out, the two-time SEC Player of the Year was either going to leave school and declare early for the 2019 NBA Draft or return to school for his senior season but there was no indication either way where Williams was leaning.

Now we officially know the reason for the presser as Williams has announced he plans to leave school following his historic collegiate career and pursue his dream of playing in the NBA. During the press conference, Williams officially announced his intentions to leave Tennessee for the 2019 NBA Draft.

“I have decided to test the waters in the NBA Draft process and will now forego my last season at the University of Tennessee with the capability to come back and finish what I started here,” Williams stated. He plans to hire an agent to help him during the process.

Williams joins fellow junior Jordan Bone as Volunteers that have declared early for the 2019 NBA Draft. Tennessee is also losing Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander this offseason, both to graduation.

Schofield took the same approach to the NBA Draft this time last season and ultimately decided to return to the program, so there is a chance Williams could eventually return for his senior season in Knoxville, based on what feedback he gets from the NBA.

The first player to win SEC Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons since 1995, Williams was named unanimous All-American following his junior season at Tennessee. During his collegiate career, Williams has helped lead the Volunteers from one of the worst basketball programs in the league to the only team to go to the SEC Tournament Championship Game the last two seasons. Tennessee won the regular-season SEC championship during his sophomore season and finished tied for second place during his junior season.

A native of Charlotte, coming out of high school, Williams famously picked Tennessee over scholarship offers from Harvard and Yale.