Freshman forward Malik Dia announced on Saturday morning that he will enter the transfer portal.

The 6-foot-9 forward released a statement on Saturday morning.

"I would like to thank all of Vanderbilt University for my first year and I truly loved it here. With that being said I will be entering the transfer portal."

In 8.7 minutes a night, Dia averaged 2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and .4 blocks in his lone season at Vanderbilt. His best performance came in a 14-point outing in Vanderbilt's January loss to Kentucky.

The Murfreesboro native was part of one of Vanderbilt's highly-touted 2022 class that also included Lee Dort, Colin Smith, Paul Lewis and Noah Shelby.

With the other bigs that are set to return along with Carter Lang and JaQualon Roberts, who are set to join the Commodores in the summer, the frontcourt certainly would have been crowded had it included Dia.

The freshman showed flashes of high-level play on the perimeter that could be valuable when paired with his physical frame but will likely need to improve his shot selection and physicality before becoming a regular contributor to an SEC-level program. Dia was called Vanderbilt's "most talented" player by coach Jerry Stackhouse in the preseason but still has room to go in his development.

Dia has three years of eligibility remaining and his departure gives Vanderbilt one open scholarship to use in the class of 2023 or in the transfer portal this offseason.