This morning, Pitt men’s basketball landed its highest-ranked recruit in head coach Jeff Capel’s tenure.
On the CBS Sports College Basketball YouTube channel, Chase Foster, the 33rd-best player in the 247 Sports national player rankings and 7th-best power forward in the 2026 class, announced he’s taking his talents to Pittsburgh. Pitt offered Foster a scholarship on July 14, then hosted him for an official visit on Sept. 12. He chose to join the Panthers over Oklahoma, Villanova, Texas A&M and 14 other Division I schools.
Standing at six-foot-eight and listed at 210 lbs, Foster is a physically gifted forward who can still add more size and strength as he grows. At Nike EYBL’s Peach Jam, Foster was awarded 2nd-team honors and averaged 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game for Team Melo.
At his size with his frame, Foster will likely be asked to fill the role of a “roller, finisher, lob threat and big transition weapon,” according to Adam Finkelstein, 247 Sports’ Director of Scouting.
On the defensive end, Foster has the physical abilities to anchor a high-level defense. He earned Defensive MVP of the Nike EYBL North Augusta session. In the session, he averaged 3.3 blocks and 2.0 steals per game.
Team Melo, Foster’s EYBL team this past summer, is the same team former Pitt guard Bub Carrington, now on the Washington Wizards, played for when he was in high school.
The connections don’t stop there. Less than a week ago, Pitt earned a commitment from one of Foster’s teammates at IMG Academy, a prep school in Florida known for producing elite basketball talent.
On Oct. 10, Pitt landed its first commitment of the 2026 class from guard Jermal Jones. After visiting Cal in mid-September and Pitt two weeks later, Jones knew that Pittsburgh was the right landing spot for his talents.
“The area was very nice. And then the culture — all the culture and all the kids, everybody was together, they were bonding, nobody was doing their separate thing. That’s what I want to be a part of,” Jones told 247 Sports.
As the 110th-best player and No. 15 shooting guard in the country, according to 247 Sports national player rankings, Jones is the type of player Capel has enjoyed putting on the floor in recent years. According to Jones, coaches at Cal called him a “baby Ja Morant,” and Purdue head coach Matt Painter compared his game to Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons.
If those comparisons are telling, the Panthers have a talent in Jones, who stands at six-foot-three and is listed at 180 lbs.
Foster and Jones are hopefully the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Pitt’s 2026 recruiting class. The Panthers and Capel still have their sights set on other four-star prospects such as Jasiah Jervis, the third-highest-ranked shooting guard in the country, according to 247 Sports.
It’s unknown if recent Panthers like Carrington and Justin Champagnie making the NBA, upgraded facilities, new athletic director Allen Greene, increased efforts into NIL spending or the basketball the Panthers play is attracting recruits. Regardless, Pitt’s 2026 recruiting class is shaping up to be one of the best in the country.
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