Selena Castillo - General Manager - Women's Basketball - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Selena Castillo

Title:
General Manager - Women's Basketball
Email:
Phone:
213-852-6033

On July 1, USC women’s basketball head coach announced the hiring of Selena Castillo as the program's general manager. Castillo brings a breadth of experience to her role with the Women of Troy, including significant time with Duke women’s basketball as well as work in events and nonprofit organizations.

"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,” Gottlieb said. "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.

“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. 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."

Castillo comes to USC after most recently serving as Duke’s director of external affairs for women’s basketball, having overseen all external aspects for the program, including NIL, marketing, communications, creative, alumni relations, fundraising, strategic partnerships, business development and external operations. She also oversaw personal and professional development for student-athletes and supported the coaching staff in recruiting efforts. Castillo has extensive experience in branding, content, strategy and messaging and has been successful in enhancing visibility of the Duke program to the level of the most-followed program in the ACC.

“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."

Prior to beginning her time Duke in 2017, Castillo worked at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and Event Development Institute, involving her in high-level national and international events while also developing creative strategies for various events around the United States. While in Tampa, she also served as a high school and AAU girls basketball coach while founding a women's basketball league and training young athletes.

"Los Angeles is an extraordinary city that offers a vibrant and dynamic backdrop for the important work ahead, and I couldn’t be more excited to immerse myself in the greater community,” Castillo added. "I look forward to collaborating with our talented athletes, coaches, staff and administration to build upon our rich tradition and help shape the future of the game. I cannot wait to get started. Fight On!”

Castillo also has collegiate basketball playing experience, having graduated from Emory in 2014 after four seasons playing for the Eagles. A conference champion and two-time all-conference honoree, Castillo stands as Emory’s all-time career steals leader, and her single-season marks as a junior and senior still stand as the top two records in program history. Castillo earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory in Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic, and she received an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in 2024. A native of Tampa, Fla, Castillo was inducted into the Academy of the Holy Names Athletics Hall of Fame in March 2025.

Castillo joins a USC program that is coming off a 2024-25 season that saw the Trojans win the Big Ten regular-season championship, earn a No. 1 seed into the NCAA Tournament and reach a second straight Elite Eight to finish with a 31-4 overall record under the direction of National Coach of the Year finalist Lindsay Gottlieb. The third Trojan in program history to win the Naismith Trophy, sophomore JuJu Watkins also was selected the Big Ten Player of the Year and was joined on the All-Big Ten awards lists by freshman Kennedy Smith and seniors Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall. Iriafen and Marshall both were selected in the 2025 WNBA Draft.