Kentucky transfer Marcus Lee verbally committed Saturday to Cal, a team source told The Chronicle.

Lee visited campus Friday for the second time in two weeks. He committed to the Bears over Washington, which he also visited.

Last month, after removing his name from the NBA draft, Lee announced his intention to play his senior year for another school. Under NCAA rules, he will sit out next season before becoming eligible for Cal in 2017-18.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari said in a school-issued statement that Lee, an Antioch native, informed the program he was “going to transfer to a school out west to be closer to his family.”

The 6-foot-9, 224-pound forward was granted a full release by the school with no restrictions. As a junior this past season, he averaged 6.4 points on 68 percent shooting, six rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

The high point of his Kentucky career came in the 2014 Elite Eight against Michigan, when he came off the bench to spark the Wildcats to victory with 10 points and eight rebounds in 15 minutes. He leaves Lexington ranked 20th all-time in the program with 100 blocks.

Coming out of Deer Valley High School in 2013, Lee was a five-star recruit ranked No. 17 in his class by Rivals. He participated in the 2013 McDonald’s All-American Game alongside current Cal guard Jabari Bird. Lee strongly considered Cal, coached by Mike Montgomery at the time, before signing with Kentucky.

Lee is a major addition to a 2017-18 Bears frontcourt that figures to include Kameron Rooks, Kingsley Okoroh and Roman Davis. It appears unlikely that Ivan Rabb, who spurned the 2016 draft to return for his sophomore season, would still be with Cal by that point.

The Bears have been active on the transfer market. Two months ago, UNLV transfer Jordan Cornish committed to Cal before academic concerns reportedly prompted him to reopen his recruitment. Columbia guard Grant Mullins, a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility, signed a financial aid agreement with the Bears on April 29.

Lee will take Cal’s final available scholarship, which came open when guard Jordan Mathews was given a full release to transfer.

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: Con_Chron