Jeremiah Fears announces commitment to University of Illinois

Former Joliet West guard Jeremiah Fears left Illinois to play his junior year of high school basketball but plans to return to Illinois for his freshman year of college basketball.

Fears, a junior, announced Monday afternoon his commitment to continue his education and college basketball career at the University of Illinois after his high school graduation.

A 6-foot-3 point guard, Fears is widely regarded as either a four- or five-star recruit in the Class of 2025, most recently listed as Illinois’ top 2025 recruit and upgraded to No. 16 in the nation in the ESPN 60.

He had whittled down his college choices to five universities. They were Illinois, Providence, Kansas, Ole Miss and Michigan.

Like older brother Jeremy Fears – the 2023 Herald-News Boys Basketball Player of the Year, McDonald’s All American and current Michigan State freshman – Jeremiah Fears elected to play his junior season out of state at a preparatory basketball-centered powerhouse, AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Arizona. He has starred there, averaging about 15 points per game, as he did the previous two seasons at Joliet West. As a sophomore at Joliet West, Jeremiah Fears, like his brother, earned Herald-News All-Area first-team honors after averaging 16.3 points and providing shutdown defense for the Tigers.

Illinois is ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press poll. The Fighting Illini are 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten Conference.