One of the smaller Kentucky basketball rosters in recent years got even thinner on Friday.

Freshman wing Kahlil Whitney announced via his Twitter account that he is leaving the program.

"Like so many others, playing at UK had always been a dream of mine," Whitney said. "I truly believed Coach (John) Calipari and his program was the best fit to assist in preparing me for that next step in my basketball career. Unfortunately, my time at Kentucky has not gone as I had hoped, and I therefore need to make a difficult decision quickly to put myself back into the best position possible as I continue to develop and work toward my ultimate goal."

The full announcement (shown below) did not indicate whether Whitney intended to transfer to another school or take an alternative route such as the G League or playing overseas.

The Chicago native, a former five-star prospect and McDonald's All-American, struggled to get his game going in his first year with the Wildcats, averaging just 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. He did, however, make eight starts and was playing 12.8 minutes per game in the UK rotation.

His playing time was declining, though, in recent games as fellow freshman guard Johnny Juzang surged. Whitney's most productive game came on Nov. 8 against Eastern Kentucky when he scored 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field.

“First and foremost, Kahlil is a great kid,” UK head coach John Calipari said in a statement released by the school. “This is tough for me because Kahlil is a tremendous person who is going to do great things. I certainly don’t want to see him go because I wanted to continue to coach him, but I understand his decision and, as we always do here, will support him in whatever way we can.

“As I told Kahlil today, I hope he goes on and does his thing and makes us all proud. I know he will stay in touch with us and I know our fans will continue to support him as he takes this next step.”

Whitney is the fifth former McDonald's All-American signed by Calipari who has left the program. He joins Kyle Wiltjer, Marcus Lee, Sacha Killeya-Jones, and Quade Green on that list.

No. 15 Kentucky, which plays No. 18 Texas Tech on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, will have just eight scholarship players in uniform. Freshman wing Dontaie Allen continues to rehab from a knee injury that has kept him sidelined for the entire season.