This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

To no one's surprise, BYU forward Eric Mika announced Wednesday that he will test his NBA draft stock.

The Cougars' 6-foot-10 star, who just completed his sophomore season, will enter his name for the 2917 NBA Draft, but will preserve his college eligibility by not hiring an agent.

Mika can now be invited to workouts by NBA teams beginning April 25. The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft while maintaining NCAA eligibility is May 24.

"I'm excited to declare for the NBA Draft and I'm looking forward to the process," Mika said in a school news release. "I have every intention of pursuing this opportunity with the hope of impressing NBA teams. I will work hard over the next several weeks to put myself in a position to be drafted. I'm optimistic about my chances."

Early-entry players who have not hired an agent are eligible to be invited to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago May 9-14.

"We support Eric and will do whatever we can to help him through this process," BYU head coach Dave Rose said in the release. "Eric had an outstanding year for us. He worked incredibly hard coming off his mission to be ready for this past season and I expect he'll demonstrate that same work ethic throughout this process."

Mike was the USBWA District VIII Player of the Year after averaging 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He was a first-team All-West Coast Conference selection and a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American.

He scored in double figures in all 34 of BYU's games and had 17 double-doubles, tied for 14th-most in the country.