Joliet native Jeremiah Fears announced his commitment to Illinois on social media Monday afternoon.

Fears, a 6-3 guard, chose the Illini over offers from Providence, Michigan, Mississippi, Kansas and more.

Fears played his first two high school seasons at Joliet West, including last year with his older brother Jeremy Fears Jr., the 2023 Sun-Times Player of the Year. He’s now at Michigan State and is recovering from a gunshot wound he suffered in late December.

Jeremiah Fears is a consensus top 30 player in the national class of 2025 and was recently ranked No. 16 in the class by ESPN. Illinois has signed Thornton’s Morez Johnson, the state’s top player in 2024. Jeremiah Fears would be the top player in the state in 2025 if he had stayed.

Fears transferred from Joliet West to Compass Prep in Arizona over the summer. Jeremy Fears Jr. returned and played his senior year at Joliet West after two seasons at La Lumeire in Indiana.

The youngest Fears brother, Jamarri, is currently a freshman at Joliet West. He plays on the sophomore basketball team.