Missouri guard Thomas Gardner has signed with an agent, ensuring that he will remain eligible for the NBA draft and not return to school for his senior season.

Gardner, a junior, signed with Los Angeles agents Bill McCandless and Happy Walters of Immortal Sports Entertainment, the agents said Thursday.

"It was a tough decision for me to leave Mizzou," Gardner said in a statement. "I feel like it was the right time for me to pursue my dream to play in the NBA."