Cal’s Fernando Mendoza, who has emerged as one of the country’s up-and-coming quarterbacks, announced on social media Wednesday that he’s leaving school and entering the transfer portal.

Mendoza’s surprising departure comes one week before Cal (6-6) faces No. 24 UNLV (10-3) in the LA Bowl and was met with disappointment and frustration by Justin Wilcox. The Bears head coach said he unsuccessfully tried convincing the redshirt sophomore to stay in Berkeley.

“Disappointed for sure,” Wilcox said during a Wednesday news conference. “Yeah, I’ll keep all the discussions (with Mendoza) private. I think that’s best. ... I don’t think anything surprises me anymore in college football.”

Mendoza had become a darling among the Cal fanbase with his effervescent personality and gutsy play even before rallying the Bears on a 98-yard drive to secure a dramatic Big Game win over Stanford last month and shedding tears of pride in his team during the postgame interview. On Wednesday, he took to the social media platform X to explain his decision to enter the transfer portal.

“Every person is faced with decisions that inevitably shape their lives, and rarely do they lack gravity,” wrote Mendoza. “But for the sake of my football future this is the decision I have reached.”

Mendoza was lightly recruited out of high school, as Cal was the only power-conference program to offer him a scholarship.

After passing for 3,004 yards on a 68.7 percent completion percentage, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza will have plenty of options for his next school. The website 247Sports said the Miami product is ranked only behind Duke’s Maalik Murphy among the dozens of quarterbacks now in the portal. Mendoza is someone who evaluators see as “a high-end talent with NFL upside,” according to 247Sports.

One popular speculative landing spot for Mendoza is his hometown of Miami, where the Hurricanes will be losing star quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward to the NFL after this season.

Wilcox said no decision has been made on who will start at quarterback when Cal takes on No. 24 UNLV next Wednesday night at SoFi Stadium. CJ Harris, Cal’s third-string quarterback, and freshman EJ Caminong are splitting reps in practice, he said.

Chandler Rogers, Mendoza’s backup, would be the heir apparent in normal circumstances. However, he was injured late in Cal’s 38-6 regular season-ending loss to SMU and departed with a leg injury. His status for the bowl game is unknown.