Salt Lake City -- Tyus Battle will leave Syracuse and enter the NBA draft, a source close to the junior said Friday.

Battle, a 6-foot-6 guard, had been expected to make this his last season with the Orange. Battle entered his name in the NBA draft last year but decided to return to school.

Battle led Syracuse in scoring in each of the last two seasons. He averaged 17.2 points per game this year.

“(Syracuse) means so much," Battle said Thursday night. “I think about it every day. Coming here as a freshman, I didn’t know what to expect. My time here so far has been amazing. Some big games. It’s been a roller-coaster. I’ve seen it all and it’s been a great learning experience.’’

With his decision to leave, Battle ends his career at No. 16 on Syracuse’s all-time scoring list with 1,647 points.

In what would become his last game with the Orange, Battle scored 16 points in Syracuse’s 78-69 loss to Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

Battle could be a second-round NBA draft pick or go undrafted, according to mock drafts. He’s the No. 55 pick in a mock draft by The Athletic and undrafted in the NBADraft.net mock draft