On Monday evening, Jeremiah Fears announced a phone call from Kentucky’s coaching staff.

Fears is a top-35 talent in the 2025 class with offers from Illinois, Tennessee, Arizona, Creighton, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Providence, and many others. He eventually decided on the Illini, but changed his mind this week.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank the Illini nation for all the love and support they have given me and my family during my recruitment and after my commitment,” said Fears.”I’d like to thank Coach Underwood and his staff for their open communication and confidence in me as the potential next great guard to play at State Farm Center.” Please understand that my ultimate objective was to enter Champaign in the class of 2025 and contribute to the Big 10’s continued rise.

“With that being said, after further consideration and meaningful conversations with my family, I’ll be reopening my recruitment and exploring other opportunities.”

The 6-foot-3 point guard, while not officially announcing it, is strongly considering a reclass to the 2024 class. If so, Kentucky could be in play — albeit potentially a long shot with the amount of guards and upperclassmen on the roster.

Fears was part of the U18 USA Basketball roster that won Gold at the FIBA AmeriCup earlier this month. He averaged 6.5 points and 3.0 assists per game. Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was in attendence for some of the games.

Time will tell what Fears ends up doing, but he’s a name to at least keep an eye on with Kentucky’s interest high enough to reach out.