Santiago Vescovi will return to Tennessee for a fifth and final season.

The Vols' 6-foot-3 senior guard, who led the team in scoring this past season and was among the team's top defenders with 1.8 steals per game, announced his intentions to take advantage of another year of eligibility on Instagram late Tuesday.

"I need to clear the air about the rumors going around about me," Vescovi wrote. "I'm only going to say this once: They are absolutely true. See you next season Vol Nation."

Vescovi averaged 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and shot 39.6% from the field as a senior.

During Tennessee's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 run, Vescovi scored 14 points on 4-for-11 shooting with four 3-pointers in a 65-52 win over 5-seed Duke in the second round.

In a season where Tennessee struggled shooting at times, Vescovi was a consistent producer, scoring in double figures in 22 games, including a season-high 22 points against Ole Miss on Dec. 28, 2022.

He earned 2022-23 All-SEC First Team honors and was named the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis MVP after scoring a game-high 20 points in the Vols' 64-50 tournament championship win over then-No. 3 Kansas.

Vescovi currently ranks third in program history in made 3-pointers with 282 and is one of just four players with more than 1,000 career points, 300 assists and 150 steals during his Tennessee career.

Vescovi's return provides a boost for the program as it heads into the offseason and awaits the decisions of guard Josiah-Jordan James and forward Uros Plavsic, both of which also have another year of eligibility remaining.

Tennessee added to its backcourt with the commitment of USC Upstate shooting guard Jordan Gainey on Tuesday and is set to return starters Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack as well as B.J. Edwards, who saw limited minutes as a true freshman. D.J. Jefferson and Freddie Dilione are expected to have an impact after redshirting this past season.

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