Kansas State basketball lands coveted Oklahoma high school guard for Class of 2024
Kansas State basketball scored a major early recruiting victory for its Class of 2024 on Tuesday when Bartlesville (Okla.) High School guard David Castillo announced his commitment to the Wildcats and second-year coach Jerome Tang.
Castillo, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound combo guard ranked between No. 12 and 35 overall in his class by the major recruiting sites, chose K-State over finalists Kansas and Oklahoma State.
"I chose Kansas State because of coach Tang and the entire coaching staff," Castillo said during a commitment ceremony at Bartlesville High. "I believe they can help me grow in basketball and off the court as a young Black man.
"All this has been a dream of mine, and to see it (come to) fruition has made me extremely happy, but also certainly motivated to work even harder."
K-State assistant coach Rodney Perry was the lead recruiter with Castillo, forging the relationship during his AAU coaching days. But Castillo said he also built a strong bond with Tang.
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"Me and my family, we trust God and believe in God," Castillo said. "And he does the same things and puts everything into (God) just like we do.
"Coach Tang, he lets his guards play. I want to play, and I want to go compete. I want to go out there and have fun, and those are … the main reasons why."
Castillo received a four-star ranking from 247Sports, Rivals and on3, while ESPN has him pegged as the No. 12 overall prospect nationally. As a junior at Bartlesville, where he plays for former Kansas State guard Clent Stewart, he averaged 23.2 points last year.
While he visited only Kansas, Oklahoma State and K-State, Castillo had scholarship offers from numerous other Power Five schools. But there was a reason his final decision came down to the ones he visited.
"I definitely wanted to play in the Big 12," Castillo said. "It's the toughest conference in the country, and I'm a competitor, and I want to be there the best is at. And so it's a plus that (K-State is) at the Big 12, for sure."
Castillo also has played with USA Basketball's 16-under national team, and at Bartlesville he averaged more than 20 points in each of his first three seasons. But he's also an accomplished lead guard and could potentially play a similar role to what Markquis Nowell played this past season for the Wildcats.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State men's basketball lands top 2024 guard David Castillo
