It’s been 17 years since senior catcher Kaylyn Castillo first donned the catching gear.
At 5 feet 2 inches tall, she possesses a less than ideal physique for a backstop. She’s listed as the shortest player on the Sun Devil roster.
She also happens to be the starting catcher and No. 3 hitter.
For what she lacks in height, she makes up for in desire.
“I got that chip on my shoulder being only [5 feet 2 inches] so I got to make people forget,” Castillo said. “Once you see me on your own team, people realize how hard I work.”
That attitude emerged when she was younger, and has carried on through her time at ASU.
“When I was little, people thought I had a bad attitude, but I just wanted to win,” Castillo said. “I’m like, I know I’m only 5, but I want to win every game. It’s always been there to push me, to motivate me to be stronger, and to be better.”
Getting better is something she has consistently done during the past four seasons.
After a standout high school softball career, Castillo was prepared to make the jump to the collegiate ranks in 2008.
If everything had gone according to plan, she would have never been a Sun Devil. Her original plan was to attend Stanford and join the Cardinal softball team following her graduation from Norco High School in Norco, Calif.
That destination never came to fruition as recruiting and other factors got in the way.
“I was going to Stanford and that ended up falling through,” Castillo said. “By that time, I had to look at my other options.”
After some surveying, she decided on Louisville and quickly made the cross-country move to Kentucky.
Instead of becoming a part of the Stanford Cardinal, she was suddenly a Louisville Cardinal, and instead of competing in the Pac-10, she was now in the Big East. Rather than living in her home state, she was now on the other side of the country.
Castillo’s debut season in collegiate softball was a forgettable one. In 35 games, the right-handed hitter batted just .187 with 17 hits and 11 RBI.
It turned out to be her lone season as a member of the Cardinal squad.
“I liked the people there,” Castillo said. “It just didn’t fit.”
Following the season, she once again surveyed her softball options and decided to head to Tempe.
Castillo not only walked away from a scholarship at Louisville, but a guaranteed roster spot as well.
She contacted ASU and was one of 35 players who participated in walk-on tryouts. Of those 35 hopefuls, Castillo was the only one who made the team.
At last, she had found the right fit.
“I knew they were a solid program,” Castillo said. “I knew that it was close to home, a lot closer than Kentucky. It was somewhere that I really wanted to be.”
With a brand new team and her sophomore season quickly approaching, Castillo immediately went to work. In 2009, she wasted no time establishing herself in maroon and gold.
As a sophomore, Castillo batted .315 with 40 RBI with a .483 slugging percentage in 49 games. That same season, Castillo and the Sun Devils soared all the way to the Women’s College World Series.
After splitting time behind the plate with then senior Renee Welty, Castillo took over the starting catcher duties last season.
The hot hitting continued as she proved to be a perfect fit in the ASU starting lineup. Castillo recorded a .322 batting average while driving in 40 runs and smacking 10 doubles.
It’s been more of the same for the senior catcher during her third and final season at ASU.
Through 40 games, Castillo has launched seven home runs with 31 RBI while hitting .374, a far cry from her days of hitting .187 at Louisville.
While the offensive output has been more than impressive, her defensive presence has been invaluable.
Castillo is as reliable as they come behind the plate with her 1.000 fielding percentage through 40 games this season.
“I have so much confidence in her,” freshman pitcher Dallas Escobedo said. “I know she knows exactly what I’m doing if I miss a pitch or if I’m off a little bit. She knows what to say, what to do.”
Escobedo is just one of the many talented pitchers Castillo has caught during her three seasons in Tempe.
From Megan Elliott and Hillary Bach, to Escobedo and Mackenzie Popescue, Castillo has had several impressive battery mates.
“Hillary and me are like best friends,” Castillo said. “Mackenzie is really coming on strong, and Dallas as you can see is an amazing young pitcher.”
As the softball season transitions into the final three weeks of Pac-10 play, the clock has already begun to tick on Castillo’s career.
Looking back on her decision to transfer, Castillo is adamant that she made the right choice.
“Absolutely,” Castillo said. “I’ve been playing in the best conference in the nation. Honestly, it’s just definitely the place. I’ve been playing against some of these girls my whole life in this Pac-10 conference. It’s basically where I belong.”
Moving on from softball won’t be easy for the 17-year veteran. She plans to serve as an undergraduate assistant for Clint Myers and the team next season while she completes her business marketing degree.
“It’s not something you can replace very easily when you’ve been playing for as long as I have,” Castillo said. “I’m not looking forward to the last game.”
Whenever that last game comes, be it in May or in early June during the Women’s College World Series, it will signal the end of an impressive softball career. She will have collected more than 140 hits, more than 110 RBI, and played in more than 150 games in just three seasons at ASU.
It’s been three seasons full of clutch hits and highlight real defense.
All because of that chip on her shoulder.
Reach the reporter at greg.dillard@asu.edu
