Guard Mark Sears became Alabama’s fifth player Saturday to declare for the 2023 NBA draft, announcing in an Instagram post that he would maintain his college eligibility.

Sears joins guard Jahvon Quinerly and center Charles Bediako in declaring for the draft while making clear their intention to maintain eligibility. The move allows those players to go through the pre-draft process and gather feedback from teams, with the ability to withdraw by May 31 and return to school if they hired an NCAA-certified agent.

Freshman forwards Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney have also declared for the draft, which will be held June 22 in Brooklyn.

Sears was a junior last season who transferred to Alabama after two years at Ohio University. The Muscle Shoals native finished second on the team in scoring (12.5 points per game) behind Miller while averaging a team-high 1.2 steals per game. Sears started all 37 games for Alabama and shot 34.5 percent on three-pointers, although he made on six of his 33 triples in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

Players have until April 23 to enter the draft. The NBA will invite certain players to the G-League Elite Camp in Chicago from May 11-13, with some of those players then selected to participate in the draft combine May 14-23.

Oats explained two years ago why it makes sense for players to explore the NBA draft, even if they end up returning to school.

“I don’t think it’s the worst thing either. Like, I want guys who want to be in the NBA,” Oats said in 2021. “So if you want to be in the NBA, let’s get feedback from NBA people. I mean, I can call and get a lot of it my own without them testing the waters, but when they put their name in and test, now they’re able to get more of that on their own. I like getting feedback from NBA guys on our guys. Shoot, it only makes them better for us, too.”

Miller is ESPN’s No. 3-ranked player in the 2023 draft, while Clowney is No. 20. The other three Alabama players are not currently in ESPN’s top 100 ranked players for the 60-pick draft.

“If a guy’s got a guaranteed first-round contract, he probably needs to go,” Oats said in 2021. “We’re here to make our players better. We’re here to make their future better. If you’ve got that type of guaranteed money, I’m not gonna convince you to come back if it’s not the best decision for you, your family, your future, your career. They got to get feedback on that stuff. … At the end of the day, if they don’t have a guaranteed first-round contract, most of the time it makes sense to come back, try to play your way up into it.”

Sears’ potential departure leaves Alabama with two returning players under scholarship — guard Rylan Griffen and forward Nick Pringle — who have not entered the draft, entered the transfer portal or exhausted their college eligibility. Davin Cosby, who signed as part of Alabama’s 2023 freshman class, reclassified to 2022 and practiced with the team late in the season but did not play. He will be joined by three other freshmen this fall in Sam Walters, Mouhamed Dioubate and Kris Parker.

Alabama has lost one transfer in Nimari Burnett (Michigan) and has another player, Jaden Bradley, in the transfer portal. The Tide added Jaykwon Walton as a transfer from Wichita State. The former Georgia and Shelton State guard will need to be a graduate transfer or receive an NCAA waiver to become eligible to play next season for Alabama.

Nate Oats, who has lost all three of his assistants to head-coaching jobs this offseason, has contacted several other players in the portal. Wofford forward B.J. Mack will visit Alabama next week, while the Tide is among the finalists for FIU guard Denver Jones. Alabama was also set to host Oregon center Kal’el Ware on a visit Saturday before he canceled.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.