Jefferson graduate Castrilla completes first year of junior ollege basketball
Mar. 27—John Castrilla recently completed his first basketball season at Bryant & Stratton College.
The Jefferson graduate set a school record for 3 pointers and attained junior college academic All American status.
"I had a pretty good season," Castrilla said of his time traveling Michigan, New York and Ohio playing Division II Junior College basketball. There are 139 Division II college teams throughout the United States.
Castrilla scored more than 1,000 points in high school and helped the Falcons to an 18-7 campaign in 2021-22 that ended in a Division II district final loss to Campbell Memorial. He was one of several 1,000 point scorers on that team including Bobby Ray.
Castrilla took a year off from competitive basketball and decided to pursue his basketball, and educational, career in the fall of 2023 at Bryant & Stratton in Solon.
The Bryant and Stratton team ended up with a 6-21 record this year.
"We had a lot of talent, but never put it together," Castrilla said.
In 25 games, he averaged 11.4 points per game.
Castrilla made 75 3-pointers and shot 48.1 percent behind the arc, which placed him first in the conference and fifth in the nation at the Division II junior college level.
He said he plans to continue his playing and academic career next year at the junior college level, but not sure where at this point.
Castrilla said he hopes to get a two-year degree in the spring of 2025 and then pursue basketball at a higher level.
He said he would like to get a scholarship at the NCAA Division II level if things went perfectly.
One of the highlights of the year was participating in a student-athlete conference at Cuyahoga Community College.
Bryant & Stratton plays in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference with Lakeland Community College, Hocking College, Cuyahoga CC, Clark State, Edison State, Owens, Terra State and Lorain County.
Castrilla has been able to maintain a connection with the his high school friends who are attending Kent State University. Castrilla said he lives with several high school friends in an apartment in Kent, including James Montanaro and Grant Hitchcock.
Castrilla said he has enjoyed living in Kent and it is a short drive to school in Solon.
He has even been able to get involved with intramural basketball at Kent State as a coach for his high school buddies. Castrilla even wore a suit to get into the spirit to coach one of the games.
The freshman player also has achieved in the classroom earning a 3.75 grade point average. Castrilla is studying business at the Solon school.
There are numerous Bryant and Stratton schools in New York, Virginia, Ohio and Wisconsin.
