Basketball · Biography
Jeremiah Fears
Point guard / shooting guard · New Orleans Pelicans · NBA · active · OU 2024-2025
The 18-year-old who skipped a year and became a top-7 pick
Jeremiah Fears was born in Chicago and played at Joliet West High School alongside his older brother before moving to AZ Compass Prep in Arizona. A four-star recruit, he first committed to Illinois, then flipped to Oklahoma in July 2024 and reclassified to start college a year early. He was the first OU prospect ranked in ESPN's top 40 since Trae Young.
In his one season in Norman (2024–25), Fears played the whole year at 18. He led the Sooners to the Battle 4 Atlantis title, scoring 26 in an upset of No. 24 Arizona, and dropped a career-high 30 on No. 24 Michigan, sealing the win with a four-point play with 11.5 seconds left. He was the first OU true freshman since Young to score 30, made the SEC All-Freshman Team and averaged 17.1 points and 4.1 assists.
The New Orleans Pelicans took him seventh overall in the 2025 NBA draft, making him OU's fourth top-seven pick in 16 years after Blake Griffin, Buddy Hield and Young. As a rookie he played all 82 games, the first Pelicans rookie to do that. He averaged 14.3 points and made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. On April 7, 2026, he scored 40 against Utah, a Pelicans rookie record.
As of October 8, 2026, Fears is a guard for the Pelicans.