Eastern Michigan Athletics
Women's Basketball
Castro, Fred
Fred Castro
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- ccastro6@emich.edu
- Phone:
- 734.487.0481
Fred Castro begins his eighth season at the helm of the EMU women’s basketball program in 2023-24. A rising star in coaching, Castro has spent the past 20 years climbing the ranks from student manager to now the eighth head coach in EMU program history. During his career, he has worked tirelessly to learn and has held nearly every position within a women’s basketball program including serving as offensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator, video coordinator, and travel coordinator.
Castro has been a part of 10 squads that have participated in the postseason since the 2001-02 campaign, including a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament Final Four. In 20 years of coaching, his teams have combined to post a 355-253 record (.583 winning percentage) and eight seasons of 20-or-more victories.
The team closed out its 2022-23 season as the No. 7 seed in the Mid-American Conference tournament, held in Cleveland, Ohio inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Overall, the team was an even 15-15 to end the season (.500), an improvement from the 2021-22 campaign. As a member of the MAC, the Green and White earned seven wins against league foes, three more than it did in the previous season.
Additionally, Castro led EMU to a 9-6 home record. After his seventh season at the helm of the women's basketball program, Castro has accumulated a 45-48 home record, a 48 percent winning clip. The 45 victories rank him as the fourth winningest coach when playing at home in program history. Of the nine total commanders, Kathy Hart (1976-87), the first ever, holds the title with a 78-40 home record in 11 seasons, which ranks her as the longest coach at the helm, thus far.
Under the guidance of Castro, Eastern Michigan produced an average of 4.2 blocks per game in the 2022-23 season, good for first in the league and 46th nationally. Additionally, an international recruit of Castro, Tayra Eke, led both the Green and White and the MAC in total blocks with 51, ranked 41st in the nation in total blocks and 44th in blocks per game, producing an average of 1.70.
Individually, Castro and his staff guided All-MAC Honorable Mention, Ce'Nara Skanes in her final competitive season. Skanes became EMU's 25th 1,000-point scorer during the 2022-23 season while leading the team with five contests recording 20 or more points setting a season high 26 against WMU, Feb. 11. Moreover, Skanes led the team in double-digit performances with 19 outings of 20 or more points. Additoinally, Castro guided freshman Olivia Smith in her rookie season as she led the team in made three-pointers and was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team.
Eastern Michigan finished the 2021-22 season with a 7-20 overall record and a 4-16 mark in Mid-American Conference play. Additionally, the team was 5-9 at home, 2-10 on the road, and 0-1 in their lone neutral site game.
Season highlights included Eastern's series sweep over Central Michigan, 80-60, Jan. 8, and 83-70, Feb. 19. For the Green and White, this was their first series sweep against the Mount Pleasant, Mich. institution since the 2014-15 season and both victories ended in double-digit margins. Prior to this season, the Eagles had not won back-to-back games by double figures over the Maroon and Gold since topping them 85-64, Feb. 14, 2015 and 99-84, March 8, 2014.
Individually, Castro and his staff continued to guide redshirt senior Areanna Combs to yet another MAC honor. Despite her season being cut short due to injury, Combs collected Second Team All-MAC honors for the third consecutive season and wrapped up her career with 1,257 points as an Eagle, ranking her 13th in EMU’s all-time scoring list. With the honor, she became just the sixth player in program history to be named to the MAC's first, second, third, or honorable mention teams three times in her career; Combs is the first to earn honors in three consecutive seasons since Cha Sweeny, who collected second team nods each season between 2014-16.
The 2021-22 squad had the fewest turnovers in the Mid-American Conference with 386 in 27 games. The Eagles’ discipline with the ball was good for 24th in the nation. Additionally, Eastern was third in the league in fewest fouls with 457. The Green and White were strong defensively in the paint as well, recording 3.3 blocks per game, the third-best mark in conference play.
In 2020-21, Castro led the program through the unprecedented challenges that came as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite numerous cancellations and season-altering factors outside the team’s control, the Eagles were still able to produce a 10-10 record, including a 7-7 mark in conference play, which qualified the team for play in the annual Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. Season highlights included Eastern’s upset road win over Central Michigan, Jan. 20, as well as 69-66 triumph over MAC East Division-foe Ohio University, Jan. 27. As a unit, the Eagles allowed just 62.2 points per game in 2020-21, which was the best of any team in the league. EMU’s field goal percentage defense was also first, as opponents shot just 37.1 percent against the Green and White.
Individually, Castro helped guide two Eagles to postseason honors in redshirt senior Areanna Combs and redshirt sophomore Ce’Nara Skanes. Combs collected Second Team All-MAC honors, and was also named to the MAC All-Defensive Team. 2020-21 marked consecutive seasons that Combs had been recognized on those teams, as she was named to both respective lists following the 2019-20 season. In 2019-20, she became the first EMU women’s player to earn either honor since the 2015-16 campaign when Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton were honored in the two categories, respectively. Combs is just the second Eagle in program history to earn all-defensive honors, and brings home the school’s 18th nod on the Second Team All-MAC list in 2020-21.
Skanes, playing for the first time during the 2020-21 season after transferring to EMU at the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign, collected Third Team All-MAC honors for her outstanding play this season. She is the eighth player in program history to collect the recognition, and first since Danielle Minott did it in 2017-18.
Castro has also established one of the most successful transfer destinations in the Mid-American Conference. Seven current Eagles began their careers elsewhere before finding a home in Ypsilanti, including three that came to EMU after stints at traditional ‘Power Five’ institutions. Additionally, many of the transfers were earning significant minutes at their previous institutions, and had earned all-conference recognition. Combs and Skanes are two players that fall within that category.
In 2019-20, Castro led the Eagles to their first winning season during his tenure, patrolling the squad that finished with a 16-15 overall record, including a 9-9 mark in conference play. Castro’s best win to date came in the team’s final appearance during the 2019-20 campaign, when it bested the No. 2 overall seed, Ball State 61-58, in the MAC Tournament quarterfinal round. Unfortunately, the team’s semifinal game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Individually, Castro oversaw the impressive development of redshirt senior guard Areanna Combs. Combs competed in 24 games for the Green and White during the 2019-20 campaign, scoring in double figures in each of them. Combs was one of just two players in the conference to accomplish such a feat. Additionally, she finished in the league’s top-10 in points per game with her 17.8 average.
In addition to his on-court contributions to the game, Castro also joined Coaches 4 Change, a platform derived from recent social injustices and advocating for change through teaching and empowering their student-athletes. Castro is joined by two other former EMU women’s basketball assistant coaches, Texas Christian’s Abi Olajuwon, and Minnesota’s Carly Thibault-DuDonis, as part of the 49-member group.
In 2018-19, Castro and his squad proved to be one of the top defenses in the Mid-American Conference. Overall, the Eagles tallied 84 blocks, the 10th-most in EMU single-season history, while ranking in the top-five in the conference in field goal percentage defense (39.6 - fourth), scoring defense (65.1 - fourth), steals per game (8.2 - fourth), and turnovers forced (16.81 - fourth).
Individually, Castro and company coached 2019 senior Danielle Minott to an All-MAC Honorable Mention nod, making her just the sixth Eagle in program history to earn All-MAC honors multiple times in a career. A MAC Player of the Week selection, Minott set the Convocation Center record for points scored when she poured in 43 against Buffalo, Jan. 9, 2019. Minott finished her two-year career ranked 30th in scoring with 892 points. The Green and White also saw the emergence of Corrione Cardwell and Jenna Annecchiarico. Cardwell put together a career year, blowing her freshman year marks out of the water and scoring the seventh-most points (402) by an EMU sophomore all-time. Meanwhile, Annecchiarico dished out a team-best 100 assists, the second-most by an Eastern freshman in two decades, while also becoming the first freshman to lead the MAC in assist-to-turnover ratio since the 2005-06 season.
Castro’s squad left its mark in the EMU record book during the 2017-18 campaign. Collectively, the Eagles scored the ninth-most points in program history (2,150) and made the seventh-most field goals (810) in EMU laurels in large part to the impact of Castro’s first recruiting class.
Under the tutelage of Castro and his staff, Danielle Minott and Courtnie Lewis reeled in postseason accolades. Minott, a two-time MAC West Player of the Week honoree, was named to the All-MAC Third Team after an outstanding first season in Ypsilanti. Minott rewrote the record book with an electric performance against the University at Buffalo, Jan. 27, breaking the program record with 43 points. She also knocked down 14 shots, the seventh-most in EMU history in the Eagles’ overtime battle against the Bulls. For the season, Minott finished fifth in points by an EMU junior and ranked 13th in EMU annals with 483 points scored. Meanwhile, Lewis pieced together one of the best freshman seasons in EMU history. An All-MAC Honorable Mention and a MAC All-Freshmen Team selection, Lewis scored the second most-points by a freshman in EMU history, while finishing the season top-10 nationally among freshmen in points per game. Her 435 points also ranked 21st in EMU single-season history overall, while her three-point percentage (.405) was eighth-best at Eastern Michigan. Lewis also became the only freshman in the country to hold shooting percentages of at least 44-40-75 (field goal-three-point-free throw).
The Eagles also saw the careers of four seniors come to a close, most notably Sasha Dailey. Dailey finished her time in the Green and White ranked second in games played (131), tied for fifth in steals (243), seventh in field goal attempts (1,306), tied for 10th in field goals made (507) and steals average (1.9), and 15th in minutes played (3,018) and scoring (1,247). She finished her career as one of three players in program history to have scored at least 1,000 points, grabbed 350-or-more rebounds, and racked up 200+ steals.
In his first season leading the Eagles, Castro coached Phillis Webb to the best season of her career. Webb posted career-highs in points (454), rebounds (261), free throws made (75), three-pointers (37), field goals (171), and minutes (1,076). The Brooklyn Park, Minn. native also became just the seventh player in Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball history to grab 700 rebounds and score 1,000 points in their career, eclipsing both marks under the guidance of Castro.
Castro came to Ypsilanti following a three-year stint in Seattle as an assistant coach with the University of Washington, in which Huskies posted a 69-35 record and a trip to the 2016 NCAA Tournament Final Four. He worked with the guards and acted as the team’s offensive coordinator as the Huskies defeated 14 top-25 programs during his tenure.
A storybook 2015-16 campaign saw Washington post a 26-11 record and the program’s first Final Four appearance. Dealing with a short bench due to injuries, the Huskies utilized a six-woman rotation as it tore through the NCAA Tournament, including beating No. 4 Stanford, 85–76, to win the South Regional. Washington finished the year ranked in the top-50 in 11 statistical categories including: free throws made (521 - 6th), free throw percentage (78.0% - 6th), three-pointers made (271 - 17th) and rebounds (1,437 - 23rd).
Castro tutored USBWA All-America honoree Kelsey Plum, who was fourth in the nation in scoring at 25.9 points per game, while leading the country in total points with 960. In addition to her scoring prowess, Plum averaged 3.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists, while leading the nation in both free throws made (266) and attempted (299). The junior guard broke the Washington record for points in a season, while also setting the Pacific-12 Conference record for career free throws made.
He arrived at Washington from the University of Tulsa where he served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2011-13. When Castro arrived at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane were coming off just five wins, but in 2013 they won the Conference USA Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Castro helped put together a pair of top-50 recruiting classes at Tulsa, while also assisting with on-floor coaching, including practice planning, player development, and scouting. His final recruiting class was ranked 39th nationally and fourth amongst mid-majors.
In 2012, Castro was first invited to the Nike Villa 7 Clinic for the top-30 assistant coaches in the country. He attended the clinic yearly from 2012-15.
In addition to Castro’s duties at Tulsa, he worked as an advance scout for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
Castro worked as an assistant coach at the University of Albany during the 2010-11 season. He was responsible for on-the-floor coaching, game scouting, recruiting, game scheduling, and served as the liaison to academic and athlete support services. Castro helped coach the Great Danes to their first winning season since becoming a Division I program in 1999.
Prior to his stint at Albany, Castro was an assistant coach at Mercer University for two seasons (2008-10), where he helped coach the second-best turnaround in the country during the 2008-09 season with a 17-13 record, improving from the 2007-08 season by 12 wins, and earn the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference a year later.
Castro was an advance scout for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx in 2009-10.
Previously, Castro was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Rogers State University, an NAIA program in the Sooner Athletic Conference, during its inaugural season in 2007-08 where they went 20-11.
He also held various positions for the University of Oklahoma women’s basketball program from 2001-07, including video/travel coordinator (2005-07), volunteer coach (2004-05), and manager/scout team player (2001-04). While with the Sooners, Castro was part of six consecutive NCAA Tournament teams, including a Final Four squad in 2002 and back-to-back Sweet Sixteen teams. Oklahoma captured four Big 12 Conference Tournament championships and three regular-season crowns as well during his time on campus.
Castro, who hails from Denton, Texas, is a graduate of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Aviation, and was an instructor in the Aviation Department in 2004-05.
He and his wife, Cindy, have a daughter, Aliya and a son, Alonzo.
Castro has been a part of 10 squads that have participated in the postseason since the 2001-02 campaign, including a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament Final Four. In 20 years of coaching, his teams have combined to post a 355-253 record (.583 winning percentage) and eight seasons of 20-or-more victories.
The team closed out its 2022-23 season as the No. 7 seed in the Mid-American Conference tournament, held in Cleveland, Ohio inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Overall, the team was an even 15-15 to end the season (.500), an improvement from the 2021-22 campaign. As a member of the MAC, the Green and White earned seven wins against league foes, three more than it did in the previous season.
Additionally, Castro led EMU to a 9-6 home record. After his seventh season at the helm of the women's basketball program, Castro has accumulated a 45-48 home record, a 48 percent winning clip. The 45 victories rank him as the fourth winningest coach when playing at home in program history. Of the nine total commanders, Kathy Hart (1976-87), the first ever, holds the title with a 78-40 home record in 11 seasons, which ranks her as the longest coach at the helm, thus far.
Under the guidance of Castro, Eastern Michigan produced an average of 4.2 blocks per game in the 2022-23 season, good for first in the league and 46th nationally. Additionally, an international recruit of Castro, Tayra Eke, led both the Green and White and the MAC in total blocks with 51, ranked 41st in the nation in total blocks and 44th in blocks per game, producing an average of 1.70.
Individually, Castro and his staff guided All-MAC Honorable Mention, Ce'Nara Skanes in her final competitive season. Skanes became EMU's 25th 1,000-point scorer during the 2022-23 season while leading the team with five contests recording 20 or more points setting a season high 26 against WMU, Feb. 11. Moreover, Skanes led the team in double-digit performances with 19 outings of 20 or more points. Additoinally, Castro guided freshman Olivia Smith in her rookie season as she led the team in made three-pointers and was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team.
Eastern Michigan finished the 2021-22 season with a 7-20 overall record and a 4-16 mark in Mid-American Conference play. Additionally, the team was 5-9 at home, 2-10 on the road, and 0-1 in their lone neutral site game.
Season highlights included Eastern's series sweep over Central Michigan, 80-60, Jan. 8, and 83-70, Feb. 19. For the Green and White, this was their first series sweep against the Mount Pleasant, Mich. institution since the 2014-15 season and both victories ended in double-digit margins. Prior to this season, the Eagles had not won back-to-back games by double figures over the Maroon and Gold since topping them 85-64, Feb. 14, 2015 and 99-84, March 8, 2014.
Individually, Castro and his staff continued to guide redshirt senior Areanna Combs to yet another MAC honor. Despite her season being cut short due to injury, Combs collected Second Team All-MAC honors for the third consecutive season and wrapped up her career with 1,257 points as an Eagle, ranking her 13th in EMU’s all-time scoring list. With the honor, she became just the sixth player in program history to be named to the MAC's first, second, third, or honorable mention teams three times in her career; Combs is the first to earn honors in three consecutive seasons since Cha Sweeny, who collected second team nods each season between 2014-16.
The 2021-22 squad had the fewest turnovers in the Mid-American Conference with 386 in 27 games. The Eagles’ discipline with the ball was good for 24th in the nation. Additionally, Eastern was third in the league in fewest fouls with 457. The Green and White were strong defensively in the paint as well, recording 3.3 blocks per game, the third-best mark in conference play.
In 2020-21, Castro led the program through the unprecedented challenges that came as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite numerous cancellations and season-altering factors outside the team’s control, the Eagles were still able to produce a 10-10 record, including a 7-7 mark in conference play, which qualified the team for play in the annual Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. Season highlights included Eastern’s upset road win over Central Michigan, Jan. 20, as well as 69-66 triumph over MAC East Division-foe Ohio University, Jan. 27. As a unit, the Eagles allowed just 62.2 points per game in 2020-21, which was the best of any team in the league. EMU’s field goal percentage defense was also first, as opponents shot just 37.1 percent against the Green and White.
Individually, Castro helped guide two Eagles to postseason honors in redshirt senior Areanna Combs and redshirt sophomore Ce’Nara Skanes. Combs collected Second Team All-MAC honors, and was also named to the MAC All-Defensive Team. 2020-21 marked consecutive seasons that Combs had been recognized on those teams, as she was named to both respective lists following the 2019-20 season. In 2019-20, she became the first EMU women’s player to earn either honor since the 2015-16 campaign when Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton were honored in the two categories, respectively. Combs is just the second Eagle in program history to earn all-defensive honors, and brings home the school’s 18th nod on the Second Team All-MAC list in 2020-21.
Skanes, playing for the first time during the 2020-21 season after transferring to EMU at the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign, collected Third Team All-MAC honors for her outstanding play this season. She is the eighth player in program history to collect the recognition, and first since Danielle Minott did it in 2017-18.
Castro has also established one of the most successful transfer destinations in the Mid-American Conference. Seven current Eagles began their careers elsewhere before finding a home in Ypsilanti, including three that came to EMU after stints at traditional ‘Power Five’ institutions. Additionally, many of the transfers were earning significant minutes at their previous institutions, and had earned all-conference recognition. Combs and Skanes are two players that fall within that category.
In 2019-20, Castro led the Eagles to their first winning season during his tenure, patrolling the squad that finished with a 16-15 overall record, including a 9-9 mark in conference play. Castro’s best win to date came in the team’s final appearance during the 2019-20 campaign, when it bested the No. 2 overall seed, Ball State 61-58, in the MAC Tournament quarterfinal round. Unfortunately, the team’s semifinal game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Individually, Castro oversaw the impressive development of redshirt senior guard Areanna Combs. Combs competed in 24 games for the Green and White during the 2019-20 campaign, scoring in double figures in each of them. Combs was one of just two players in the conference to accomplish such a feat. Additionally, she finished in the league’s top-10 in points per game with her 17.8 average.
In addition to his on-court contributions to the game, Castro also joined Coaches 4 Change, a platform derived from recent social injustices and advocating for change through teaching and empowering their student-athletes. Castro is joined by two other former EMU women’s basketball assistant coaches, Texas Christian’s Abi Olajuwon, and Minnesota’s Carly Thibault-DuDonis, as part of the 49-member group.
In 2018-19, Castro and his squad proved to be one of the top defenses in the Mid-American Conference. Overall, the Eagles tallied 84 blocks, the 10th-most in EMU single-season history, while ranking in the top-five in the conference in field goal percentage defense (39.6 - fourth), scoring defense (65.1 - fourth), steals per game (8.2 - fourth), and turnovers forced (16.81 - fourth).
Individually, Castro and company coached 2019 senior Danielle Minott to an All-MAC Honorable Mention nod, making her just the sixth Eagle in program history to earn All-MAC honors multiple times in a career. A MAC Player of the Week selection, Minott set the Convocation Center record for points scored when she poured in 43 against Buffalo, Jan. 9, 2019. Minott finished her two-year career ranked 30th in scoring with 892 points. The Green and White also saw the emergence of Corrione Cardwell and Jenna Annecchiarico. Cardwell put together a career year, blowing her freshman year marks out of the water and scoring the seventh-most points (402) by an EMU sophomore all-time. Meanwhile, Annecchiarico dished out a team-best 100 assists, the second-most by an Eastern freshman in two decades, while also becoming the first freshman to lead the MAC in assist-to-turnover ratio since the 2005-06 season.
Castro’s squad left its mark in the EMU record book during the 2017-18 campaign. Collectively, the Eagles scored the ninth-most points in program history (2,150) and made the seventh-most field goals (810) in EMU laurels in large part to the impact of Castro’s first recruiting class.
Under the tutelage of Castro and his staff, Danielle Minott and Courtnie Lewis reeled in postseason accolades. Minott, a two-time MAC West Player of the Week honoree, was named to the All-MAC Third Team after an outstanding first season in Ypsilanti. Minott rewrote the record book with an electric performance against the University at Buffalo, Jan. 27, breaking the program record with 43 points. She also knocked down 14 shots, the seventh-most in EMU history in the Eagles’ overtime battle against the Bulls. For the season, Minott finished fifth in points by an EMU junior and ranked 13th in EMU annals with 483 points scored. Meanwhile, Lewis pieced together one of the best freshman seasons in EMU history. An All-MAC Honorable Mention and a MAC All-Freshmen Team selection, Lewis scored the second most-points by a freshman in EMU history, while finishing the season top-10 nationally among freshmen in points per game. Her 435 points also ranked 21st in EMU single-season history overall, while her three-point percentage (.405) was eighth-best at Eastern Michigan. Lewis also became the only freshman in the country to hold shooting percentages of at least 44-40-75 (field goal-three-point-free throw).
The Eagles also saw the careers of four seniors come to a close, most notably Sasha Dailey. Dailey finished her time in the Green and White ranked second in games played (131), tied for fifth in steals (243), seventh in field goal attempts (1,306), tied for 10th in field goals made (507) and steals average (1.9), and 15th in minutes played (3,018) and scoring (1,247). She finished her career as one of three players in program history to have scored at least 1,000 points, grabbed 350-or-more rebounds, and racked up 200+ steals.
In his first season leading the Eagles, Castro coached Phillis Webb to the best season of her career. Webb posted career-highs in points (454), rebounds (261), free throws made (75), three-pointers (37), field goals (171), and minutes (1,076). The Brooklyn Park, Minn. native also became just the seventh player in Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball history to grab 700 rebounds and score 1,000 points in their career, eclipsing both marks under the guidance of Castro.
Castro came to Ypsilanti following a three-year stint in Seattle as an assistant coach with the University of Washington, in which Huskies posted a 69-35 record and a trip to the 2016 NCAA Tournament Final Four. He worked with the guards and acted as the team’s offensive coordinator as the Huskies defeated 14 top-25 programs during his tenure.
A storybook 2015-16 campaign saw Washington post a 26-11 record and the program’s first Final Four appearance. Dealing with a short bench due to injuries, the Huskies utilized a six-woman rotation as it tore through the NCAA Tournament, including beating No. 4 Stanford, 85–76, to win the South Regional. Washington finished the year ranked in the top-50 in 11 statistical categories including: free throws made (521 - 6th), free throw percentage (78.0% - 6th), three-pointers made (271 - 17th) and rebounds (1,437 - 23rd).
Castro tutored USBWA All-America honoree Kelsey Plum, who was fourth in the nation in scoring at 25.9 points per game, while leading the country in total points with 960. In addition to her scoring prowess, Plum averaged 3.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists, while leading the nation in both free throws made (266) and attempted (299). The junior guard broke the Washington record for points in a season, while also setting the Pacific-12 Conference record for career free throws made.
He arrived at Washington from the University of Tulsa where he served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2011-13. When Castro arrived at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane were coming off just five wins, but in 2013 they won the Conference USA Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Castro helped put together a pair of top-50 recruiting classes at Tulsa, while also assisting with on-floor coaching, including practice planning, player development, and scouting. His final recruiting class was ranked 39th nationally and fourth amongst mid-majors.
In 2012, Castro was first invited to the Nike Villa 7 Clinic for the top-30 assistant coaches in the country. He attended the clinic yearly from 2012-15.
In addition to Castro’s duties at Tulsa, he worked as an advance scout for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
Castro worked as an assistant coach at the University of Albany during the 2010-11 season. He was responsible for on-the-floor coaching, game scouting, recruiting, game scheduling, and served as the liaison to academic and athlete support services. Castro helped coach the Great Danes to their first winning season since becoming a Division I program in 1999.
Prior to his stint at Albany, Castro was an assistant coach at Mercer University for two seasons (2008-10), where he helped coach the second-best turnaround in the country during the 2008-09 season with a 17-13 record, improving from the 2007-08 season by 12 wins, and earn the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference a year later.
Castro was an advance scout for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx in 2009-10.
Previously, Castro was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Rogers State University, an NAIA program in the Sooner Athletic Conference, during its inaugural season in 2007-08 where they went 20-11.
He also held various positions for the University of Oklahoma women’s basketball program from 2001-07, including video/travel coordinator (2005-07), volunteer coach (2004-05), and manager/scout team player (2001-04). While with the Sooners, Castro was part of six consecutive NCAA Tournament teams, including a Final Four squad in 2002 and back-to-back Sweet Sixteen teams. Oklahoma captured four Big 12 Conference Tournament championships and three regular-season crowns as well during his time on campus.
Castro, who hails from Denton, Texas, is a graduate of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Aviation, and was an instructor in the Aviation Department in 2004-05.
He and his wife, Cindy, have a daughter, Aliya and a son, Alonzo.
| The Fred Castro File | ||
| Name: | Carlos Federico "Fred" Castro | |
| Hometown: | Denton, Texas | |
| College: | University of Oklahoma - Bachelor's degree in Aviation - 2004 | |
| Family: | Wife - Cindy; Daughter - Aliya; Son - Alonzo | |
| Professional Experience | ||
| Year | School/Team | Position |
| 2016-Pres. | Eastern Michigan University | Head Women's Basketball Coach |
| 2013-16 | University of Washington | Assistant Women's Basketball Coach |
| 2011-13 | University of Tulsa | Assistant Women's Basketball Coach |
| 2010-11 | University of Albany | Assistant Women's Basketball Coach |
| 2009-10 | Minnesota Lynx | Advance Sout |
| 2008-09 | Mercer University | Assistant Women's Basketball Coach |
| 2007-08 | Rogers State | Assistant Men's Basketball Coach |
| 2005-07 | University of Oklahoma | Video/Travel Coordinator - Women's Basketball |
| 2004-05 | University of Oklahoma | Volunteer Women's Basketball Assistant Coach |
NCAA Post Season Appearances as a Coach
2004 - NCAA Tournament Second Round
2005 - NCAA Tournament First Round
2006 - NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16"
2007 - NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16"
2013 - NCAA Tournament First Round
2014 - WNIT Quarterfinal Round
2015 - NCAA Tournament First Round
2016 - NCAA Tournament "Final Four"
Women's Basketball Practice Highlights Week of Aug. 4, 2025
Sunday, August 10
Inaugural Bowling with the Eagles Event
Friday, August 08
Women's Basketball Practice Highlights Week of July 28, 2025
Friday, August 08
2025 Women's Basketball Alumni Panel
Wednesday, July 30
