Luca Foster, Sam Funches sign letters of intent with Gonzaga

Luca Foster signed his letter of intent with Gonzaga on Wednesday morning from a conference room at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri.

Within a few hours, Foster’s future college teammate, Sam Funches, was putting pen to paper himself, surrounded by family members at Germantown High School in central Mississippi.

The Zags received commitments from both players last month, but Foster and Funches made it official on Wednesday, the first day high school seniors were able to sign binding agreements with college basketball programs.

Both considered four-star prospects by the major recruiting services, Foster, a 6-foot-5 wing, and Funches, a 7-foot center, make up two-thirds of Gonzaga’s 2026 recruiting class.

Combo guard Jack Kayil was Gonzaga’s first commit in the ’26 class, but the native of Germany is currently playing for Alba Berlin in the country’s top basketball league and indicated he would keep his options open for the time being in case he decides to enter the 2026 NBA Draft.

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi ranked the country’s top 25 recruiting class, slotting the Zags in at No. 15, one spot below Georgia Tech and one spot ahead of Stanford.

“Gonzaga landed all three of its recruits in October, saving its best addition – Foster – for the final week of the month,” ESPN wrote. “He’s at his best in catch-and-shoot situations from the perimeter, but is also capable of getting points in the midrange.

“Kayil has generated plenty of attention overseas, as the Germany native has represented his country on the FIBA circuit. And Funches will be more of a depth piece early on, but he’s incredibly long and can protect the rim.”

Foster is a native of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia and played at Archbishop Carroll before transferring to Missouri-based Link Academy, where he will face stiff competition as part of the Lions’ national schedule.

Foster sits at No. 37 on ESPN’s SCNext Top 100 ranking and is rated No. 36 on 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. A long wing who is able to score at all three levels, Foster told The Spokesman-Review last month Gonzaga’s coaching staff indicated he would have a chance to play during his freshman season.

The 16th-rated small forward in the country according to composite rankings, Foster narrowed his list of schools down to Gonzaga, Oregon, Ohio State and Villanova before committing to the Zags.

“Right away I knew they were going to be recruiting me hard and coach (Stephen) Gentry, coach (Brian) Michaelson, I was hearing from them like every day, every week,” Foster said. “So I built a great relationship with them and even on my visit I could just tell they were a big family and they’re big on development.”

Funches was attracted to Gonzaga because of the school’s track record when it came to developing centers and forwards – a number of whom have gone on to careers in the NBA. The Mississippi native rated as the No. 42 overall recruit in his class and top-ranked player in his state, according to On3/Rivals. Funches was unanimously considered a top-10 center in his class.

After visiting Gonzaga during Kraziness in the Kennel, Funches chose the Zags from a list of four finalists that also included three SEC schools: LSU, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

“It was a great visit, they’ve got the perfect playstyle, the development plan and they’ve got a great fanbase,” Funches told The S-R after his visit. “Great fanbase.”