Providence redshirt sophomore forward Rafael Castro committed to men’s basketball Tuesday, according to an Instagram announcement.
Castro, GW’s first transfer arrival this offseason, averaged 2.9 points per game this past season for the Friars, who finished 21-14 and 10-10 in Big East play. Standing at 6’11,” Castro will provide size to a frontcourt left empty following the departures of graduate student center Babatunde Akingbola and graduate student forward Antoine Smith Jr.
“Their vision for me is to have me expand my game from last year,” Castro said to 247Sports. “I feel like I’ll get the opportunity to showcase some things I didn’t get to last year. They’re giving me the platform to do it.”
Castro’s decision comes after visiting GW this past weekend, according to 247Sports.
After struggling to find playing time during his two years in Providence, Castro stands to get more minutes for a Revolutionaries team with a less established frontcourt.
Castro, who hails from Dover, New Jersey, averaged 9.3 minutes and 2.4 rebounds in 34 games this past season, starting one.
Recruited in the class of 2021, 247Sports ranked Castro as the 142nd top prospect in the nation and the 27th best power forward. Before committing to Providence, he received an offer from the University of Miami, where current GW Head Coach Chris Caputo was serving as the associate head coach.
Now entering his third year leading GW’s program, Caputo has made a habit of targeting players from power conferences like Providence’s Big East through the transfer portal.
In the 2022 offseason, then-Kansas State guard Maximus Edwards joined GW after redshirting his freshman year with the Wildcats. He went on to win the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year for the 2022-23 season before entering the transfer portal again this March.
Last offseason, the team brought in forward Darren Buchanan Jr. after he redshirted his freshman year at Virginia Tech. He finished second on the team with a 15.6 points per game average. Akingbola joined the team for his graduate year after playing for four years at Auburn, and guard Benny Schröder transferred from Oklahoma following his freshman year.
