Who Is Jeremy Fears Jr.? What To Know About Michigan State Point Guard

There haven't been many playmakers in college basketball better than Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. this season.

The Spartans' 6-foot-2 point guard is second in the country in assists per game, only behind Purdue's Braden Smith. Fears also entered the Men's NCAA Tournament as one of the top guards in the 68-team field, and a reason why the Spartans are seen as a team that could make a deep run to the Final Four.

REQUIRED READING: Complete March Madness schedule: Dates, times, TV channels for 2026 NCAA Tournament

But his playmaking isn't the only part of his game that has helped him earn a spot on the finalist list for the Wooden Award or be in the mix for the top player in the Big Ten. He's also been able to impact games for the Spartans with his ability to score in all three levels.

Fears finished with seven points in Michigan State's opening-round win over North Dakota State on Thursday, his seventh game this season in which he finished with single-digit points. He'll look to improve that stat line on Saturday when the Spartans take on 6-seed Louisville in the second round of the East Region at 2:45 p.m. ET in Buffalo, New York.

Here's what to know about Fears:

Jeremy Fears Jr stats

Here's a breakdown of Fears' stats this season at Michigan State:

• 2025-26: 15.7 points per game, 9.2 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals with a 44.5% field goal shooting percentage

Here's a game-by-game breakdown of Fears' stats in the Big Ten tournament:

• Game 1 vs. UCLA (Quarterfinals): 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting with 13 assists, a rebound and a steal

Here's a breakdown of Fears' stats in March Madness:

• Game 1 vs. North Dakota State (First Round): Seven points on 2-of-6 shooting with 11 assists and two rebounds

How old is Jeremy Fears Jr?

Jeremy Fears Jr. is 20 years old. He'll turn 21 on April 19, 2026.

Is Jeremy Fears Jr a dirty player?

It really depends on who you ask and how you analyze Fears' game.

Some notable examples of this include him kicking Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds in the groin, for which he received a technical foul for in a 76-73 loss, and being called out by Michigan coach Dusty May for "dangerous" plays in the first meeting between the two Big Ten rivals.

"I go out every game and I play hard. I don't intentionally try to hurt anyone,” Fears said after Michigan State's game at Minnesota back in February, according to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. "I go out and play every game like it's my last, because at one point it was my last. So I don't take a game for granted. I don't take a moment for granted. So I'm going to go out there and play as hard as I can every possession, every game.

"Like at one point, I had basketball taken away from me, so something I love to do, I couldn't do it for a whole year. So most people wouldn't understand that. And that's on them, I guess. At the end of the day, it doesn’t change who I am or what I do. I'm just go out there and play 150(%) no matter what."

Are Jeremy Fears Jr and Jeremiah Fears related?

Yes, the Michigan State point guard is the brother of now New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears, who was a one-and-done at Oklahoma. Jeremiah Fears was drafted by the Pelicans with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Jeremy Fears Jr.? What to know about Michigan State point guard