This summer the NCAA changed the rules for official visits, allowing prospects to make official visits at the start of their junior year.

Xavier Foster, a five-star prospect in the Class of 2020, has decided to take advantage of a this opportunity, at least on a local level. The 6-foot-11 forward from Oskaloosa, IA made the drive over to Iowa City this past weekend for his first official visit. In two weeks, he will do the same and visit Iowa State.

“I really like the idea of getting out and making a few official visits this year,” Foster said. “I think it will really help me learn more about the schools and the recruiting process.”

Foster and his family arrived in Iowa City on Friday to start his official visit. The day included a tour of the student-athlete learning center and conversations with people on the academic side at the University of Iowa.

One of the overall highlights of the visit, according to Foster, was he spent more time with the Iowa players than he has in the past on his unofficial visits.

“My host was Joe Wieskamp and I spent a lot of time with him and the rest of the players. I usually don’t get to do that on the unofficial visits because sometimes they have been for basketball games. I really got a good feel for what their days are like at Iowa and I got to know them better.”

He was also able to spend time with the three other official visitors on campus this weekend, Patrick McCaffery, Joe Toussaint, and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

“Those guys were fun to be around,” he said. “Patrick and Joe (Toussaint) were definitely trying to get me to join them at Iowa.”

While the actual visit may have been a bit different for Foster, the message from the Iowa coaches remains the same. Fran McCaffery and his staff have taken a low key approach with Foster and his family, not pushing for a commitment, but simply showing them a plan.

“They have definitely not put any pressure on me at all,” he said. “They usually just tell me what they like about my game, where I can get better, and how would be a great fit for what they run at Iowa.”

Iowa and USC will be down to Oskaloosa this week for an open gym to watch Foster. Next week, UCLA will be in to watch. Expect quite a few more schools to make making their way to see Foster in the next month.