Top-40 2026 prospect Chase Foster details the four schools involved most
By SAM LANCE
Class of 2026 forward Chase Foster is having quite the summer with Team Melo on the Nike EYBL circuit.
Foster, the 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward out of IMG Academy (FL), has been a consistent force in the paint and has really expanded his perimeter game. Through 11 contests, Foster has averaged 12.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, which ranks No. 9 at the 17u level. He especially took off at the last session in Kansas City with two double-doubles and a 30-point game.
“I think we’re doing pretty solid,” Foster said of the summer with Team Melo so far. “I think we could have won more games that we lost. I think just going into Session 4, we have to work. We have a few practices coming up, so I feel like everybody needs to be locked in and focused on winning the next few games so we can make Peach. But as far as myself, I feel like I’ve been playing solid. Just have to be more consistent. I think that’s probably the biggest thing for me.”
Versatility is what Foster is known for, and it’s what he said he’s been able to show coaches this summer. He’s working on becoming more of a leader.
“I know a lot of the guys believe in me, they lean on me and stuff,” Foster said. “So just coming in and being a leader, just bringing everybody together, I think it’ll help us out a lot. Because I know my coach has pulled me aside a few times and told me when you’re the one bringing the effort and energy and bringing everybody together, then everybody follows your lead.”
The biggest thing for Foster’s improvement this summer, though, has been his increased strength.
“I think just going to the rim and taking bumps, it’s a little hard to knock me off balance now,” Foster said. “I think before, like last year, I wasn’t as strong. But just going to IMG and focusing more in the weight room, I think that helped me a lot. And even in the summer, just being consistent with my work and lifting a lot, trying to get stronger.”
Foster attended NBPA Top 100 camp in June as well. There, he learned from NBA players the amount of work you need to put in to succeed. That’s really opened his eyes.
“I was talking to Wesley Matthews and Taj Gibson,” Foster said. “They were just saying when you get to the NBA, you’re going to be forced to have a role. So just coming in and being good at the role. If that’s sitting in the corner making threes or playing defense, being a 3-and-D kind of guy and stuff like that. And just the work. Constantly working, being in the gym everyday and being consistent with what you love.”
On the recruitment front, Foster said four schools are standing out right now and recruiting him the hardest: Maryland, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and Villanova. He’s working to set visits with all of those schools, but nothing has been set in stone yet.
Here’s Foster’s breakdown of the four schools involved:
Maryland: “All the coaches rave about my size, the potential I have to operate on the perimeter and be a defender and stuff like that. I think that’s what I like most about them.”
Mississippi State: “Really [they’ve said] that I have the potential to come in and be one-and-done. That’s kind of my whole goal going to college. They love my size. They say I have the potential to be a good wing defender. I actually talked to the head coach [Chris Jans], and he was just telling me that he liked my game, how I can use my length, how I can operate on the perimeter and stuff like that. I talked to [Patrice] Days last night. He said he was trying to get me to come the same day my teammate at IMG, Trey Beamer was going to come. I think that was Sept. 27. But nothing has been confirmed yet.”
Oklahoma State: “I would say I’ve been talking to [James Miller] the most. Constant phone calls, text messages and stuff. He loves what I can do. He loves the potential I have. He also said I have the potential to come in and be one-and-done. So I think if coaches see that in me, I think that means something too.”
Villanova: “They’re trying to get me to come down on a visit. [Kevin Willard], he likes my effort, my size, just how I can do a lot of things guards can do at my size. Coach [Kevin] Norris and coach [Ricky] Harris, they’ve been talking to me since they were at Maryland. So I think that kind of plays a part in my recruitment too. Just being from the same city as me, I like that a lot.” Foster is originally from Baltimore.
Last time ZAGSBLOG caught up with Foster, Florida State and Syracuse were two schools involved, but they have cooled their pursuit.
Foster plans to set his official visits for August or September. He also said when he’s eying a decision.
“Probably around my birthday, December 13,” Foster said. “I want to make a decision around that time. So I’m not really too sure about when I’m going to cut my list of schools. But I know around December-November I want to try to commit, make my decision.”
Foster is ranked the No. 39 overall prospect in the 2026 class by 247Sports. His AAU coach, John Zito, describes foster as “super talented.”
“He’s 6-foot-9 and can shoot, pass and dribble,” Zito said. “I think he went down to IMG and grew his game from a defensive standpoint, from a physicality standpoint. He rebounds the ball at a higher clip. He’s got so much potential, but I think we’re starting to see that potential kind of translate into some attributes that are going to translate very well to the college level and potentially NBA level.”
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