Rivals150 PF Rafael Castro chooses Providence

One of the top available power forward prospects in the 2021 class, Rafael Castro ended his college recruitment Thursday. The crafty, bouncy front court player, Castro gave his commitment to the Providence Friars and plans to sign during the early period which begins on Nov. 11.

Holding 13 offers Castro, the No. 136 overall ranked prospect in the Rivals150 and the No. 23 ranked power forward, chose Providence over a final group that also included Dayton and Miami.

“It was just the best option for me from a basketball and educational standpoint,” Castro said of his college choice before talking about his relationship with Friars head coach Ed Cooley and the coaching staff. “At first it started with coach [Jeff] Battle, he was the first one to recruit me. It wasn’t too long until the head coach took over and he just started FaceTiming and phone calls. We just built a great bond.”

Castro told Rivals.com that he was able to take unofficial visits to each of his finalists before the NCAA Dead Period due to the Coronavirus. He joins three-star power forward Legend Geeter in Providence’s 2021 recruiting class.

At 6-foot-9 and 195-pounds Castro is long, energetic, quick, athletic and rangy. He has the versatility to play and defend multiple positions. He runs the floor and his footwork and lateral quickness make him difficult to match up with and help him immensely on the defensive end.

All of those abilities allowed Castro to average 18.3 points and lead the state with 16.3 rebounds per game for Dover (NJ) High School.

I love Castro’s upside and believe that his list of offers would have been even longer had the two April evaluation periods remained intact.