USC's Evan Mobley declares for NBA draft after decorated freshman season

There was no doubt this would be the outcome -- no question from the moment five-star, 7-foot freshman Evan Mobley arrived at USC that he would be around for just one season.

And especially no question as to his immediate future after he led the Trojans to the program's first Elite Eight appearance in 20 years while becoming the first player in conference history to sweep Pac-12 Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

So on Friday, Mobley delivered the formality of announcing that he is declaring for the NBA draft. He is widely projected to be one of the first few picks in the draft. ESPN ranks him as the No. 2 overall prospect behind Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham.

Mobley led with 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game during his banner freshman season.

He received first-team All-American honors from National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and was also named AP and U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-America second teams.

This will mark the third straight year USC has a first-round draft pick, following Kevin Porter Jr. in 2019 and Onyeka Okongwu in 2020.

Watch highlights of his freshman season below: