Carlos Castillo knows talent when he sees it.
A former right-handed pitcher, Castillo played 19 years of professional baseball with the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies, and had stints in Japan and the Caribbean.
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After he retired, he ran Kachi, a Miami-based baseball academy to help high school students develop their skills to reach the college level and Major League Baseball.
Now, Castillo, 51, has the task of rebuilding the Killian High School baseball team as its new head coach.
The Miami native took over the helm last week after the Cougars’ athletic department and school Principal Dr. Earl Burth picked him over three other candidates.
He replaced Christopher Leon, who decided to move on after three years at the helm.
Castillo said one of his players at the baseball academy who attends Killian encouraged him to apply for the position.
During the interview, Castillo said the athletic department and Burth were impressed despite lacking coaching at the high school level.
“We talked about baseball and the best setup for the boys,” Castillo said. “I guess I gave them the right answers.”
Castillo takes over a team that finished last season 13-13 and won the 3A District 16 championship before losing to Guiller Prep in the regional quarterfinals, 6-2, according to Max Preps.
Castillo said the team for 2026-2027 faces several challenges after losing 10 players to graduation and needing to fill spots on the roster.
“Right now, we need more players,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get them to play on the team.”
Castillo said he met with the players and they are ready to hit the field and play.
“We’re giving the best opportunity to play,” he said. “I know we are young, but we are going to work our butts off and win.”
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Returning, so far, are four seniors including outfielder Daniel Huerta who had a .360 batting average last season, and Phoenix Media who recorded 10 stolen bases.
Right-handed pitcher Ryan Llambes is also returning after registering a 3.65 ERA last season.
Burth said among the candidates who interviewed for the vacant coaching position, Castillo has the most experience playing baseball on the professional level.
“He played at the level every kid wants to reach and that’s the pros,” Burth said. “We’re in the process of rebuilding the team and a fresh face who knows the sport can help turn things around.
Burth said Killian is planning to launch a first of its kind Sports Magnet program for the 2026-2027 school year and Castillo could help bring in students to participate.
“The program goes beyond playing baseball,” he said. “It’s about learning sports management, sports media and writing sports stories. “It’s a first of a kind in Miami-Dade and coach Castillo can bring in kids in the building to learn the other side of baseball.”
Baseball is in Castillo’s blood.
His father also played professionally in Mexico and taught him the game while growing up.
As a student at Miami Southwest High School, Castillo was on the All-Dade Team three times and All-State Team on one occasion.
He said he had his best year during his senior season by earning an .88 ERA.
Just two months ago, he was inducted in the Southwest High Hall of Fame.
When Castillo made it to the pros straight out of high school, his father was proud of him.
“But he said getting there was easy, the hard part is staying there,” Castillo said. “Playing nineteen years in the pros worked out pretty well.”
Running his baseball academy, he helped the developed the skills of high school players who also made it to the pros.
They included Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zack Meto, Chicago Cubs pitcher Branden Noriega and New York Mets outfielder M.J. Melendez.
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But now Castillo wants to lead his new team to new heights.
“I’m excited,” he said. “And the players are excited.”