Pitt Lands Biggest Recruit of Capel Era
The recruiting momentum continues for Jeff Capel, Jay Kuntz and the Pitt men’s basketball program with the addition of a big-time player.
2026 4-star forward Chase Foster announced his commitment, selecting the Panthers over Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Villanova. Along with those schools, Foster also held offers from Florida State, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Penn State, USC, Washington, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Providence and Vanderbilt.
In terms of rankings, Foster (IMG Academy) becomes the highest ranked recruit of the Jeff Capel coaching era.
Rivals/On3Sports ranks Foster (6’9″, 205-pounds) as the No. 38 overall player and the No. 6 power forward in the Class of 2026.
Biggest Recruits of the Jeff Capel Era.
1. Chase Foster (No. 38)
2. Papa Kante (No. 83)
3. Jaland Lowe (No. 88)
4. John Hugley (No. 89)
5. Jermal Jones (No. 92)
6. Bub Carrington (No. 98)
The addition of Foster also strengths Pitt’s pipeline in the DMV region as Foster is originally from Edmondson-Westside High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Over the last couple of years, Pitt has gotten Carrington and Omari Weatherspoon from that area.
During the summer, Foster played AAU with Team Melo of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, as did Carrington. This past season, he averaged 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks per game with Team Melo.
The Pitt program hosted a handful of 4-star recruits in September and thus far have landed commitments from two of those players.
Last week, Pitt landed a commitment from Foster’s teammate at IMG Academy, 4-star guard Jermal Jones, Jr.
4-star wing Ethan Mgbako also visited but overpriced himself with Pitt and eventually committed to Vanderbilt. 4-star guard Neiko Mundey committed to Texas A&M and Pitt is still battling for 4-star wings Jasiah Jervis and Anthony Felesi.
