Santa Monica College Men's soccer standout JJ Castillo has accepted a full ride scholarship to Cal State San Marcos.  Castillo, a 1st team All WSC player from La Quinta High School will look to play Center Mid at San Marcos. 

"My parents are ecstatic and I'm happy I earned the scholarship as well."  Although Castillo is not a local product he made the most of his opportunity at SMC.  "I was not recruited to come to SMC to play Soccer.  Actually I came out to the Westside to visit a friend for the weekend and checked into SMC.   I loved the area, went back home and spoke to my folks, got a room here with a friend and everything worked out great!"   Castillo stated he didn't know anyone when he decided to attend Santa Monica College.   He said his coach and teammates made his transition smoother.   "I had a great experience with Head Coach Tim Pierce.   He is an excellent coach and a great friend. "

Regarding his selection for a scholarship to Cal State San Marcos, Castillo went down to San Diego for a tryout and coaches were impressed.   After the session he quickly received a call back from the coaching staff offering the scholarship. 

Castillo, a Business major who will earn his Associates Degree from SMC in June advises prospective SMC student- athletes  "Coming here will help you mature and grow as an individual.   I would highly recommend SMC. You save money, the academics here are great and the resources as well. I know I can walk into the offices and get help from anyone."

Castillo will leave for San Marcos in July as the team starts training for next season.  His goal is to start and play the center mid position for the Cougars. He also He also forward to training and will be replacing the current midfielder at San Marcos who is ironically his best friend from high school. 

Cal State San Marcos is an NCAA Division II school competing in the CCAA Conference.