Carlos Castillo’s style on the field doesn’t tell the full story of his bumpy baseball journey.
Although his road took many twists and turns with its fair share of bad hops, his path to Ferrum College wasn’t like most.
In high school, Castillo was a three-year Varsity player, achieving all-conference, all-county, and all-state accolades.
But his grades didn’t match his performance on the field, leaving junior college as his only option to continue playing after graduating from the City of Hialeah Education Academy.
“Towards my junior year of high school, when recruiting picked up, I had a lot of schools look at me and say my grades weren’t going to cut it,” Castillo said. “Having something off the field affect me on the field lit a fire under me. I had to get myself together in class, attend class more often, but having people tell me I need to be better in the classroom was for the better.”
His journey of collegiate baseball started 45 minutes outside of Miami at Broward College.
When Castillo arrived at Broward in the fall of 2019, everything was normal. Come spring time, his baseball world turned upside down.
Castillo’s freshman season was during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result of the pandemic, Broward shut down the season, leaving Castillo with a decision on where he was going to officially start his career.
“The process after Covid, was tough. I had struggled because it was a different transition for me,” Castillo said. “Grades-wise, it was still messing me up, and I wasn’t really looking into schools until I got an opportunity from Saint Petersburg College.”
Castillo ended up earning a walk-on spot at Saint Petersburg.
His first collegiate baseball season was in the Spring of 2021, where he played 46 games, had a .273 batting average, .328 on base percentage, .318 slugging percentage, six doubles, one triple, 21 RBI, 37 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases.
When Castillo returned to Saint Petersburg in the fall, he was faced with another challenge.
“The coaching staff that brought me in had gotten fired, all the returners and starters had begun transferring out, and the new coaches said it might be best for me to find a new place to play,” Castillo said.
He added it was tough for him mentally because it was his second college in less than two years.
In his third attempt to find a place to compete, Castillo arrived at Pasco-Hernando State, in New Port Richey, FL.
By this point, Castillo understood the college game and the power of Florida JUCO competition.
“It’s tough. Everyday, you go to practice and 30-40 guys are there, and you have 10 guys hungry to play and take your spot. Being the smallest on the field, competing with kids who are 6’4’’ was a grind,” he said. “But what helped me was my time at Broward College. We had a lot of upperclassmen that year, and they took me under their wing and showed me what it really takes to compete and succeed at the college level.”
In the spring of 2022, Castillo worked his way into the starting shortstop role.
That season, he started in 55 games, hit .303 in 211 at bats, an on base percentage of .386, slugging percentage of .436, had 16 doubles, four home runs, 44 RBI, 43 runs scored, and stole 22 bases.
“It was exciting finally being able to get on the field with my team and not have to worry about a season getting canceled,” Castillo said. “Our team that year was also special. Everybody there wanted it, and it showed.”
Athletes who compete at the JUCO level have two years of eligibility. Castillo was given an extra year of eligibility from the NJCAA because of Covid ending his season at Broward.
After those years, the athlete’s career either ends or they transfer to a four-year school.
“I tried not to think about my career ending after JUCO because I would tell myself ‘If I made it here, I could go play somewhere else’. But it was hard because I wasn’t getting the recruitment and looks from schools I wanted,” Castillo said. “So, I just kept my head down and kept working for an opportunity.”
But it wasn’t until Castillo’s brother–Dariel–who played in a travel ball tournament for a recruiting coordinator for the University of Dayton asked him to take a look at his brother.
“Given the fact that he’s mentored me throughout my career and has helped me better myself as a player, when I saw a chance of helping him possibly play at a Division One school I did not hesitate,” Dariel said. “That still doesn’t come close to everything he’s done for me, so I wouldn’t want to have anybody else to look up to.”
Castillo had offers from colleges ranging from NAIA, to the top Division Two programs in Florida, and a couple of Division One programs further away than Ohio.
The NAIA and D-II programs were offering Castillo full-ride scholarships, but it didn’t take much time for Castillo to make his decision of making his dream of playing D-I baseball a reality.
“I grew up being the shortest and always hearing that I’m not good enough to play D-I, and to get that chance, I knew I had to run with it,” Castillo said. “The opportunity the coaches at Dayton gave me–when they talked to me, went about the recruitment process–something stuck out to me as the place I wanted to continue my career.”
The Fall of 2022 found Castillo traveling 17.5 hours by car from his hometown of Hialeah, FL to Dayton, OH.
“At first, kids looked at me weird because I was one of–if not the only–Hispanic on the team. And being from Miami coming to Dayton, I was questioned why I was in Ohio,” Castillo said. “After a few weeks, the love they showed me is still very appreciated, and it helped me for the rest of the year to be comfortable.”
Despite being the kid from Miami, a week before opening day, Castillo learned he was going to be the starting shortstop for the Flyers.
At the season’s end, he had played in 59 games, hit .297, had a .354 on base percentage, .498 slugging percentage, had 11 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 40 RBIs, and lead the team with 16 stolen bases.
“It was a good feeling to be able to perform like I did,” Castillo said. “Coming into the year, on the B-Team, having to battle and grind to be the starting shortstop. From one day to another I was able to get my chance to play, and making the most of every opportunity was special.”
The following season, Castillo said he was looked at as a leader, and his success on the field continued.
His senior season saw him have a .336 batting average, .404 on base percentage, .533 slugging percentage, 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 29 RBI, 27 runs scored, and seven stolen bases.
Then adversity hit once again.
This time by a season-ending hand injury.
“It was bad timing. The week before conference play, I took a 94-mph fastball off the hand, breaking one of the bones,” Castillo said. “I was out for two and a half months, didn’t play a single conference game the rest of the year, and I thought I had let the team down.”
Still, when Dayton’s season came to an end, the senior’s baseball career didn’t conclude.
Castillo was ready to take his career to the pinnacle of the sport–Major League Baseball.
During these draft workouts, Castillo’s hand still wasn’t fully healed.
“I was still getting pain and didn’t have full strength in my hand during the pre-draft workouts. I would say I was healed but not 100 percent,” Castillo said. “Being hurt and performing in front of MLB scouts was exciting but nerve-racking. Anything you did they are writing down, but I had to think of it as just another practice and play the game the way I know how to play it.”
After all the paperwork, workouts, and meetings with his agent, it was finally draft night.
Round after round, Castillo was on the edge of his seat waiting to hear his name called.
But that call never came.
“I was sitting next to my phone, praying that I got a call or text,” he said. “The waiting part of the draft gets to you. Every round that goes by, my mind started to race, thinking about not getting an opportunity to play professionally and what my life would look like with baseball.”
When the draft concluded and his name wasn’t called, he decided that he would be hanging up his spikes for good.
That’s until Castillo received a call from the owner of his brother’s travel ball team.
The owner asked Carlos if he was available to play in the final two weeks of the team’s summer season, as Dariel was begging the coach to allow him and Carlos to take the field together for the first and potentially last time together.
Carlos agreed and made the trip to play with his brother.
“My dream has always been to share the field with my little brother,” Castillo said. “I always kept telling my brother that I was done playing and was just going to be working. Once I got that call from the owner and heard him say how passionate my brother was to play with me, that’s when I decided to go.”
For Dariel, he says it was one of the coolest moments of his life.
“As a younger brother, learning from him day in and day out and being at all of his games, all I wanted to do was to be able to play with him” he said.
When the summer season ended, coaches Robert Garten and Edgard Aparicio pulled Castillo aside and told him they wouldn’t allow him to end his career, considering the amount of talent he had.
That’s when they got in contact with Eric Owens–Ferrum Baseball’s head coach.
“He was highly recommended to me by Dizzy Garten. I saw his stats from Dayton and decided to give him a call,” Owens said.
Although he wanted to continue playing, in Castillo’s mind, he didn’t know if he was willing to go play at Ferrum.
“EO called me without me knowing him. He gave me his background and told me he wants me to come be his everyday shortstop,” Castillo said.
Castillo was hesitant.
“I told him no at first,” he said. “For about two weeks straight, coach kept calling me, asking if I was truly done playing and if I had made up my mind about coming to play. I don’t know what ultimately changed my mind, but now I’m here.”
Through 31 games, Castillo is hitting .390, an on base percentage of .451, slugging percentage of .577, with 12 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 29 RBI, 35 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases.
“Growth wise, I have seen him mature over the past fall and spring into more than a ball player. He has grown into an all-around great person for younger players to look up to,” Owens said. “As a player, he is a game changer on the field. He can win a game offensively as well as defensively. He is an all-around player that doesn’t have many weaknesses.”
The team has nine games remaining and is on the outside looking into the playoff picture.
If these nine games are the final games of his baseball career, his parents are proud of the adversity he’s overcome and how baseball has changed him.
“We’ve watched him grow tremendously throughout his journey. Since starting college baseball, we have seen the most growth in his confidence, discipline, and leadership on and off the field,” Castillo’s mother, Gretchen Leiva Cruz, said. “He has worked hard to improve his skills, overcome challenges, and develop a deeper understanding of the game. His dedication and perseverance have been inspiring, and we are incredibly proud of the player and person he’s become.”
His father, Gustavo Castillo, agreed.
“Carlos’ growth in baseball has been impressive, both in terms of his mental and physical maturity. His skills within the game and leadership with his teammates are very good,” he said. “Baseball has been something that has helped him grow as a person outside of the field as well. His maturity as a human being has been excellent. I believe he has already fulfilled part of his dream.”
Castillo not only performed on the field but stepped it up in the classroom as well.
After the school year concludes, he will have a bachelor’s in management general studies from the University of Dayton and is working for a master’s in psychology from Ferrum College.
“I am incredibly proud of how far he has come. No matter the obstacles life has thrown his way, Carlos has never given up on his dream,” Castillo’s sister, Yenlig Castillo said. “His unwavering commitment to his goals and his ability to persevere through adversity are what stand out the most. Watching him chase his passion with such determination has been inspiring, and I have no doubt that his dedication will continue to lead him to even greater success.”
What’s next for Castillo’s baseball career is still unknown. Will he will take another swing at the MLB draft, look to play overseas, or officially hang up the spikes?
“I personally think when this season ends my baseball career will end with it. People around me tell me otherwise, so I’m just going to let whatever happens happen,” Castillo said. “For now, I’m taking things day by day and enjoying every opportunity I have left on the field.”
Castillo went to three junior colleges before playing his first collegiate game, silenced the doubters, lived out his dream of playing D-I baseball, fought through an injury, went through the draft process, and ended as a Panther.
The adversity he faced would leave most ending their careers on their own free will.
But for Castillo, no challenge was too daunting, no moment was too big, and no amount of adversity could overpower his true love–the love of the game.
