Mark Pope might have found the missing piece on the 2024-25 roster in the 2024 class

Kentucky listed as "Team to watch" for elite 2024 prospect.

Mar 21, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Brigham Young Cougars head coach Mark Pope keeps an eye on the action in the first half Duquesne Dukes during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Pope is still looking for one more piece to finalize his 2024-25 roster, and he could have found it in the high school recruiting class.

Jeremiah Fears is a four-star combo guard in the 2025 class who plans to reclassify to the 2024 class. Right when Fears decommitted from Illinois, Coach Pope reached out to the talented 6'3 guard.

Now popular Twitter/X page HS Top Recruiting lists Kentucky as a "school to watch" for the elite guard along with Providence, Oklahoma, Michigan, Michigan State (Where Fears's brother plays), and BYU.

Ever since he chose to pull away from his commitment to Illinois, it really does seem like Fears has a lot of interest in playing for Coach Pope at Kentucky.

Fears is ranked as the 33rd-best player in the 2025 class, so if he chooses to change to the 2024 class, he will fall down those rankings. He is a talented guard who would be the perfect final addition to this roster with a ton of upside.

Here is the scouting report on Fears from Brandon Jenkins of 247Sports, "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."