Kate Upton will grace the cover of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

The announcement was made by ... the leaked cover below, first posted on TMZ.

A few of the issues arrived early to a gas station in Michigan (why that state got first dibs, who the heck knows) and the pics are already making the online rounds, as these things frequently seem to do. Check out Kate Upton's SI swimsuit issue cover below:

Sports Illustrated originally planned to announce the 2012 swimsuit edition cover girl and the cover shot at an event tonight ... and they still might. But here she is.

Kate Upton was recently rumored to be dating Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets. There's no rumor about this, though: The 19-year-old (?!) is a stunner!

Upton made a sizzling debut in last year's edition, but it's safe to say this 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover will launch her into the stratosphere.

For those out there saying that the swimsuit issue has nothing to do with sports, annual issue also features athletes in body paint (i.e. Alex Morgan nude).

So there.