Get To Know USC Trojans' Latest Hire: General Manager Selena Castillo

At Duke, Castillo helped curate the Blue Devils' brand with social media content, and she also played a role in recruiting for the program. Similar to Broadhead, the Trojans' previous general manager, Castillo brings a knowledge of branding and marketing that could help USC create Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for the team.

In a statement released by USC, Castillo shared her excitement to be joining the Trojans.

“I am thrilled to join Lindsay Gottlieb and the USC women’s basketball family in what is truly a dream opportunity,” Castillo said. "The non-negotiables for me have always been a strong community, a standard of excellence and the ability to compete at the highest level — it is clear the Trojan spirit embodies all three. I am eager to support Coach Gottlieb’s vision to keep USC at the forefront of the sport by providing best-in-class resources to our athletes and sustaining a championship culture that drives everything we do." 

Under the leadership of Gottlieb, the Trojans have improved their win total each season. Gottlieb also recruited USC star JuJu Watkins to the program, and Watkins became the first ever Trojan to win AP Player of the Year and the third Trojan to win Naismith Trophy, joining Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie.

Watkins' star power has brought a number of NIL opportunities to Southern California, and it appears as though Gottlieb's hiring of Castillo will only boost the branding possibilities for the Trojans. Gottlieb explained the decision to hire Castillo in a statement:

"In this transformational time for collegiate athletics, my focus continues to be on putting the most extraordinary organizational structure in place so that our individual student-athletes, and team as a whole, can thrive at the most elite level. Selena has proven to be best-in-class when it comes to creating synergy between the vision of excellence for a basketball program and all the external operations and opportunities in the growing landscape of women’s basketball," said Gottlieb.

“Selena has a proven ability to enhance the experience of the players in our program, as well as to make unique and authentic relationships with key stakeholders," Gottlieb continued. "I met Selena when I was in the NBA and we spoke on a panel together; I then followed the tremendous work she did with the respected program at Duke. I knew right away that she was the right person to help propel our program to even greater heights, and I’m ecstatic that she will be our new general manager."