Oklahoma made a late addition to its roster for the program’s first SEC season.
Four-star combo guard Jeremiah Fears, once committed to Illinois in the 2025 class, announced Saturday he has committed to Oklahoma and it set to reclassify to the 2024 class. Fears would be the third addition for the Sooners in the 2024 recruiting class, joining four-star forward Kuol Atak and three-star guard Dayton Forsythe, both of whom arrived on campus earlier this summer.
In all, Fears becomes the ninth new pickup for Oklahoma heading into the 2024-25 season, as Porter Moser and his staff have had to retool the Sooners’ roster in advance of the program’s SEC debut. After winning 20 regular-season games but missing out on the NCAA Tournament last season, Oklahoma lost eight players — three to graduation and five to the transfer portal — leaving Moser with yet another roster makeover.
***JOIN SOONERS ILLUSTRATED NOW AND GET 30% OFF AN ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP***
Fears is set to be the latest, and final, piece to that retooling. The 6-foot-3, 175-pounder chose Oklahoma after originally committing to Illinois in January before backing off that pledge July 1. Since reopening his commitment, Fears received interest from Providence, Kentucky, UConn and USC, among other programs.
Moser and the Sooners worked tirelessly to secure the commitment of Fears, who was rated as the No. 32 overall prospect in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite, before his reclassification. Fears is a dynamic backcourt piece. Fears, like Moser, hails from the Chicago area, though he spent his junior season of high school ball at AZ Compass Prep in Arizona, where he averaged 14.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
He also plays travel ball for the Indy Heat and has averaged 17 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game on the Nike EYBL circuit this offseason. He has impressed recently at the 2024 Peach Jam, where he turned in games of 20 points (against Bradley Beal Elite on Tuesday) and 35 points (against the New York Renaissance on Thursday).
Here’s the scouting report on Fears from 247Sports recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins:
“Fears is the younger brother of Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears but plays an entirely different brand of basketball. He is a smooth and confident scorer who has no problem finding his own offense within the flow of a game. A combination guard with a score-first mindset, Fears is at his best in a secondary ball-handling role where he can primarily focus on making shots and creating for himself off the bounce. He is talented with the ball in his hands and has a creative enough handle to break defenders down to get to his pull-up game. While he is smooth off the bounce, there are times when Fears can be loose with the ball through traffic. However, whether playing on or off the ball his ability to make shots makes him a player that needs to be accounted for at all times. He has all the needed variables to be a solid scoring option at the power conference level.”
