Dani Castro - Field Hockey Coach - Indiana University Athletics

Photo by: Lauren Bacho/Indiana Athletics

Dani Castro

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
dcastro1@iu.edu

Dani Castro officially joined the Indiana Field Hockey coaching staff on May 25, 2019. The decision marked a return to her alma mater as a 2009 Indiana graduate and former Indiana Field Hockey standout.

Upon being hired by Kayla Bashore as an assistant coach in 2019, Castro expressed great excitement about her new position.

"I am beyond elated to join Kayla at Indiana. I attribute all my great memories on the team to IU Field Hockey's ability to attract genuine, hardworking, fantastic young women; and I feel exceptionally humbled to be able to continue that tradition. The alumni that come out of the program contribute to their communities and the county in so many impactful ways and the ability to uphold their legacy will be the honor of a lifetime," said Castro.

Castro enters her seventh season as an assistant coach for Indiana Field Hockey in fall 2025.

Under Castro’s watch, Indiana made big strides as a program in 2024. The team went 9-9 on the year with a Big Ten Tournament appearance, three ranked victories and a 4-4 Big Ten mark.

The Hoosiers defeated No. 12 Iowa on the road, 2-1 (2 OT) (Oct. 11), No. 18 California, 2-0 (Oct. 18) and No. 7 Michigan on the road (Oct. 27). Indiana’s Big Ten Tournament appearance was its first since 2021. The No. 7 Seed Hoosiers narrowly lost to No. 3 Seed Michigan, 2-1, in overtime, in the tournament’s opening round.

The three ranked wins were the most in a season since 2011 while the four Big Ten wins notched the program’s best Big Ten record since 2015 when the team went 5-3 in the conference.

With Castro’s oversight, Inés Garcia Prado earned All-Big Ten First Team honors while Yip van Wonderen and Sofia Arrebola Garcia were named to the Second Team. Garcia Prado and van Wonderen were also named NFHCA All-Region First and Second Team, respectively, as well. Sadie Canelli was also named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team.

Indiana excelled in the classroom, as well, notching three NFHCA Scholars of Distinction and 17 student-athletes being recognized for both Academic All-Big Ten honors and the NFHCA’S National Academic Squad.

With Castro’s guidance, Indiana continued to develop and make strides in 2023, which included being the only 2-0 team at the 2023 Theresa Check Invitational (Sep. 3-4) in Oxford, Ohio along with a handful of close wins, such as a 2-1 win in shootouts over Penn (Sep. 16) in Evanston, Ill. and a 3-2 overtime victory over Kent State on Senior Day.

Castro helped freshman Inés Garcia Prado and redshirt Senior Sydney Keld have All-Big Ten Second Team seasons. Garcia Prado was also named to the NFHCA’s West Region Second Team. The Hoosiers also excelled in the classroom with 13 student-athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten.

In 2022, Castro helped the team build off the success from 2021, marking back-to-back nine-plus win seasons for the first time since 2014 and 2015 in program history. Strides were made in all areas of the game that included key milestones such as Sydney Keld breaking the program record for defensive saves with 12, which also marked the most in NCAA Division I Field Hockey for the 2022 season. Goalie Arabella Loveridge had five shutout victories with 85 saves on the season. Indiana defeated No. 21 Rutgers on Sep. 30, the defending Big Ten Tournament champions, which marked the first win over the Scarlet Knights since 2016. Keld was named Second Team All-Big Ten and NFHCA West Region Second Team while Kennedy Reardon was named a Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree.

With her guidance, IU recorded seven shutout victories in 2021, breaking a single-season program record. Goalie Arabella Loveridge tallied six of those, breaking a single season record by an individual goalie. The Hoosiers tallied two ranked victories while playing a total of 11 ranked opponents throughout the season. After the season, Jes McGivern was named as a Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree while Kira Curland was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Tournament Team and NFHCA West Region Second Team.

In Castro’s first season on the Indiana staff, she helped oversee the development of the entire roster, including Hailey Couch who was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, and Grace Sensenig who earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Castro earned her first road win over a ranked opponent of her collegiate coaching career when the Hoosiers beat No. 23 Michigan State in East Lansing, 4-2, behind Hailey Couch’s hat trick.

Castro, a San Diego, Calif. native, played in a total of 76 games while wearing the Indiana uniform from 2005-2009. She was a three time Academic All-Big Ten Conference selection and appeared on the dean's list all four years. In 2008, she was the team captain for the Hoosiers, selected as the Sportsmanship Award honoree, was an All-Big Ten Tournament selection and a Longstrength/NFHCA Divison I West All-Region Team selection. She also was chosen to play in the 2008 NFHCA Senior All-Star game.

While playing for the Hoosiers, the team recorded a 48-33 regular season record over Castro’s career, including a 2005 NCAA Tournament appearance. In the 2005 campaign, Indiana made it all the way to the Big Ten title game and garnered runner-up honors, falling just short to Michigan.

After graduation from IU, Castro earned the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women's Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship to further her academic career. Castro earned her Master of Arts degree in Sports Sciences with an emphasis on Sports Pedagogy from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif. in May of 2013. While there, she also served as a volunteer assistant during the 2010 season under then head coach Linda MacDonald.

Castro came to the Hoosiers after spending two years as the head field hockey coach at Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, Calif. While at Scripps Ranch, she was named the 2018 CIF Coach of the Year and was a nominee for the California State Coach of the Year during her last season with the Falcons. While at the helm, her squad garnered 2018 Open Division CIF Champions (Southern California Section) and 2018 Western Division Champions honors. Her team ranked as high as No. 7 in the Max Preps 2018 West/Midwest Region. While out in California, Castro was also the program director for the San Diego Flyers Field Hockey Club for four seasons.