Fred Castro hired as assistant for Sam Purcell's Mississippi State women's basketball staff

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women's basketball has hired Fred Castro as associate head coach for coach Sam Purcell's staff, the program announced Tuesday. Castro spent the past eight seasons as the head coach at Eastern Michigan.

"Fred Castro is a phenomenal addition to our staff and program," Purcell said in a school news release. "With Final Four experience, he is a proven winner with an established résumé of talent development and a reputation as one of the top offensive minds in our profession. His knowledge of how we want to run our offensive system and his ability to teach it will be unmatched. His work ethic is evident in how he advanced through the coaching ranks en route to becoming a head coach and his ability to connect and build relationships is like few I have been around. His nationwide connections will prove to be vital in our recruiting efforts and I have no doubt that he will continue to make our program better every day."

The addition of Castro comes amid a staff turnover for Purcell, who is entering his third season in Starkville. Assistants Gabe Lazo, Murriel Page and Corry Irvin — who were all hired as part of Purcell's first staff in 2022 — have departed in recent weeks.

Lazo, shortly after being promoted to associate head coach at MSU, was hired as an assistant at Tennessee. Page and MSU parted ways. Irvin was hired as Chicago State's head coach.

The announcement of Castro's hiring came a day after Mississippi State hired Anita Howard as an assistant under Purcell.

Castro is a native of Texas who attended Oklahoma. His coaching career started in 2004 as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater. That was followed by assistant coaching stints at Rogers State, Mercer, Albany, Tulsa and Washington before he was hired at Eastern Michigan. Castro's career also included a stint (2009-2010) as a scout for the Minnesota Lynx.

With the Eagles, Castro won only 38.3% of his games and failed to make the NCAA tournament. He was fired in December after a 1-7 start to the 2023-2024 season.

"I am thrilled to be joining Coach Purcell and the staff at Mississippi State," Castro said. "What he has accomplished in the first two seasons in Starkville has been impressive to watch. He has a clear vision for where he wants to take this program and I can't wait to do my part in helping him accomplish those goals. There are very few places that devote the commitment and resources to women's basketball like Mississippi State so I am eager to experience that support and the energy of this community firsthand!"

PORTAL NEWS: Mississippi State women's basketball guard Darrione Rogers enters transfer portal

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Fred Castro: Mississippi State women's basketball hires new assistant