SWCC hires former player as head coach

Southwestern Athletics announced the hiring of Devin Kastrup Friday afternoon to assume the role of men’s head basketball coach for the Spartans.

The vacancy being filled with the season under two months away comes as a big relief to Southwestern athletic director Doug North.

“It feels really good (to hire Kastrup),” said North. “It feels even better knowing who we got. We got a good fit and the right person. ... It worked out really well that we got somebody that is an alumni. Anytime you have an alumni come back home and coach, that’s just outstanding.”

Kastrup, a former Spartans basketball forward, played under former head coach Mike Holmes from 2011 to 2013.

The familiarity with Southwestern and being known internally at SWCC was a big help in separating Kastrup from other applicants.

“A lot of people were on campus when he was a student athlete,” said North. “That always helps and they knew him when he was here. They knew his career a little bit.”

After SWCC, he continued his basketball career at Western Colorado University, a Division II program in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. He earned all-conference honors while there.

Kastrup averaged nine points per game for his career and 12.7 during his senior season and shot 44.3 percent from the field during his two seasons with the Mountaineers.

After graduating from WCU, Kastrup went overseas to play professionally in Spain and China – winning rookie of the year with Club Baloncesto Puerto Sagunto in Spain. In his first season, Kastrup averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and one assist per game. He was named Rookie of the Year.

The international experience for Kastrup comes as an added bonus to his experience as he returns to Creston.

“I think it’s pretty impressive,” said North on Kastrup’s international background. “He’s played a bunch of different styles of offense. He’s seen a bunch of different styles of defense, what might work with this group or another group.”

Kastrup returned to the U.S. for the 2016-17 collegiate season, spending half a season as the head assistant coach at the University of Maine-Presque Isle. He then transitioned to his alma mater, acting as an assistant coach for WCU for the 2017-18 season.

He also acted as an associate head coach for The Force Basketball, in Colorado Springs, CO, during the summers from 2015-17.

“I am passionate about coaching and mentoring young men, leading them to successful roles on and off the court,” Kastrup said in a press release from Southwestern Athletics. “I believe demanding excellence teaches student athletes lessons translating into on-the-court success and more importantly, setting them up for success in future endeavors.”