How Luca Foster went from Villanova’s doorstep to the newest member of Gonzaga’s 2026 recruiting class

From Archbishop Carroll High in northwest Philadelphia, it’s almost a straight shot – so close in proximity, locals might measure the distance in terms of city blocks rather than miles.

Take a left out of the high school’s main parking lot onto Matsonford Rd., swing another left onto King of Prussia Rd. and drive roughly eight-tenths of a mile. Make a final turn onto Lancaster Ave., cruise another half-mile and you’re already there.

Luca Foster says it takes roughly five minutes to drive from his old high school to Villanova University. At a leisurely pace, you could walk there in less than 40, according to Google Maps.

Growing up on the doorstep of the Big East power during the Jay Wright era, Foster usually had Villanova apparel hanging in his closet and watched the Wildcats whenever possible.

He was a regular at youth basketball camps hosted by the school, and it didn’t take long for Villanova’s staff to identify Foster as one of the area’s top up-and-coming players. His family developed a strong relationship with Kyle Neptune, Wright’s former assistant and the eventual successor to Nova’s Hall of Fame coach.

It all added up for the four-star wing and top-40 prospect to play for a small Catholic university recognized globally for what it’s done in men’s basketball, with multiple national championship appearances in the last decade and a strong pipeline to the NBA.

Foster still gets to do all the above, but it’ll require more than just a few turns to get to the place where the smooth-shooting wing will begin his college basketball career starting in 2026-27.

Gonzaga finalized an impressive recruiting heist on Saturday when it picked up a commitment from Foster, who made his decision less than a week after visiting the campus in Spokane and taking in a preseason exhibition at McCarthey Athletic Center.

“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 told The Spokesman-Review earlier this week. “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. … They were telling me they need me, they’re going to see me making a big impact my freshman year so I need to be ready to come in and make an impact. That’s really all I’ve been looking for in schools.”

Foster, who transferred from Archbishop Carroll to prominent Missouri-based prep school Link Academy for his senior season, began hearing from Gonzaga consistently over the summer. He took a number of official visits, traveling to Oregon, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Virginia and his hometown school, Villanova, before wrapping up the tour Oct. 19 in the Pacific Northwest.

During other visits, a common part of the weekend agenda was attending a home football game. At places like Michigan, Ohio State and Oklahoma, football recruits tend to be more identifiable or well-known than those taking basketball visits. That’s the sense Foster got, at least, and based on the timing of his trips, the Pennsylvania native didn’t get to check out a college basketball game until his final stop.

Foster never felt overshadowed at Gonzaga. In fact, quite the opposite.

At least three different times during Gonzaga’s exhibition win over Northwest,  student caught Foster’s attention with chants of “We want Luca! We want Luca! We want Luca!” letting the recruit know he was on their radar.

“(Other schools) were all focused on the football recruits, so it was cool to be on a basketball visit and have a basketball game to go to,” he said. “Hearing from all the fans was awesome.”

Days later, Foster and his parents sat down for a post-visit debrief. They encouraged him to start weeding schools out of his original list of nine to make things easier. Foster started by trimming down to five and then to four. The theme that continued to emerge as he whittled the options down? Gonzaga was always the first one mentioned.

At the end, Foster selected from a list that included the Zags, Ohio State, Oregon and Villanova.

“Gonzaga was like consistently number one as we talked about it,” mother Leah Foster said. “They were all great schools, but there was a lot about the fit and the coaching and it just feels like their belief in him which all made us on the same page. When he said it, we were like ‘OK that’s what we thought.’ ”

Neptune’s dismissal at Villanova last season impacted Foster’s potential future there, and the player wasn’t able to build the same relationship with new coach Kevin Willard.

It’ll require more than a five-minute drive for the Fosters to get from their front door to a seat at the Kennel, but Leah said the all-day travel will be worth it to see her son at a place where he’s comfortable and cared for.

“It takes about seven hours with the layover,” she said. “Of course I would’ve loved if it could’ve been a little closer, but yes, the sacrifice will be worth it.”

The Zags sealed Foster’s commitment during the visit, but the level of communication and detail from the coaching staff were also key factors throughout his recruitment. When Foster inquired about GU’s development program on a Zoom call, for example, the coaches arranged a follow-up Zoom to give him a more comprehensive look.

Foster and his parents came into the official visit with high expectations, but left with an even greater appreciation for the culture and family-oriented atmosphere they’d heard plenty about.

During other visits, Foster went through the typical recruiting carwash of photoshoots, academic meetings, campus tours and dinners. Gonzaga’s visit also included some of those things, but the Fosters were surprised when they were told there’d be no photoshoot.

“They don’t do a photoshoot because you don’t put that jersey on unless you’re a Zag,” Leah said. “Not anybody just puts it on and gets pictures. So I thought that was different but also cool, and we respected that.”

Foster got a tour of Mark Few’s office – “all the trophies and rings, it’s crazy,” he said, “so much winning” – attended a practice at the Kennel, worked out in front of coaches, went to dinners at Few’s house and Luna on the South Hill and joined Gonzaga players on a trip to the new Dave & Buster’s location in Spokane Valley.

Foster did his best to keep up with freshman center Parker Jefferson and junior point guard Braeden Smith, a former high school quarterback, in an arcade-style football game.

“I did pretty good,” he said, “my shoulder was cooked a little after that.”

Foster, who has a relatively thin frame at 6-foot-5, 185 pounds, also raved about his meeting with Gonzaga strength coach Travis Knight, who laid out a detailed plan for how the Zags will help him build in the weight room.

“It’s strength that’s going to help you … quicker first step or playing off the bump, using your shoulders,” Foster said. “Just getting stronger, but translating it toward basketball. That’s something I need.”

As they worked through the recruiting process, Foster and his parents consulted professional help from a longtime family friend. In the 1990’s, Foster’s father, Rajaan, played on a Coatesville Area (Pa.) High School team with former NBA/NCAA champion Richard “Rip” Hamilton.

A three-time NBA All-Star with the Detroit Pistons, Hamilton recruited Foster to play on the AAU team he coached in middle school and hosted the Gonzaga commit in Southern California this summer to work out with his sons Deuce and Parker at Proactive Sports Performance.

Hamilton helped Foster navigate the recruiting process, making phone calls to the schools he was interested in and providing feedback without trying to influence the player’s decision. Among those calls was a 90-minute conversation with Gonzaga’s Gentry.

“Coach Gentry said Rip had a lot of good questions for him,” Leah said. “He did talk to a lot of the schools that were recruiting him and he does ask some hard, straightforward questions. I don’t know what he asked coach Gentry, but I know a couple of the other schools he was like, is he actually going to play? Is he the guy? Questions that maybe we wouldn’t ask, he had no problem asking those questions.”

Foster was too young to catch Hamilton in his prime, but his analysis of the former Pistons great suggests he’s pulled up one or two highlight reels on YouTube.

“I really like the way Rip played,” Foster said. “Such a hard guy to guard off-ball and played hard, sprinting off screens. Just a tiring person to defend and I’ve learned a lot from him, just off the ball and going as hard as you can. Just tiring out your defender and just getting your shot off.”

Before Hamilton or other individual trainers entered the picture, Foster’s father was his first basketball educator.

“He would never let (Luca) win,” Leah recalled.

Rajaan Foster remains a role model for his son, even if he’s not drawing up basketball drills or grabbing Luca’s rebounds. Rajaan serves in the Air Force, currently working as a Reservist. He’s had a number of deployments over the years and works long hours even when he’s home in the Philadelphia area.

“He’s never home, he’s always working hard at work and I feel like I took a lot of that from him,” Luca said. “Always being in the gym working hard at whatever doing, knowing if my dad’s putting in all that work I like to also work hard.”

Foster averaged better than 16 points per game while shooting 37% from outside playing for Team Final on the Nike EYBL AAU circuit last summer. Foster is capable of scoring at all three levels and doesn’t lack confidence in his shooting. The Zags could have a need at the “2” and “3” positions next year, potentially losing four seniors in Tyon Grant-Foster, Steele Venters, Adam Miller and Jalen Warley.

“I’m ready to bring my shooting to Gonzaga and I’d say I’m one of the best shooters in the country, whether that’s off the dribble, off the down screens, just catch-and-shoot,” he said. “I can do it all when it comes to shooting. Also bringing my athleticism into next year. Speed, athleticism, all that.”