General 12/17/2025 12:00:00 AM

Hall of Fame Inductee: David Castellanos

On Oct. 11, Penn State Abington (formerly Penn State Ogontz) announced the inaugural class of its new Athletics Hall of Fame in conjunction with the 75^th anniversary of the university honoring 10 legendary inductees. The announcement was made at halftime of the men's soccer game at Memorial Field with Abington Chancellor Dr. Gary Liguori and Director of Athletics, Intramurals & Recreation Erin Foley. Click here for official announcement.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Philmont Country Club. Registration and cocktail hour begins at 2 p.m. with the ceremony beginning at 3 p.m. The event is open to the public. Ticket sales will end on Jan. 1, 2026. To purchase tickets, click here.

We'll be featuring each inductee leading up to the induction ceremony in January. Today, we highlight the coaching career of David Castellanos, who coached the men's and women's soccer programs to their first-ever NEAC Championships.

Our next Hall of Fame feature highlights the career of David Castellanos who coached the men's soccer team for 15 seasons from 2005-2019 and helped the program transition into NCAA Division III. Castellanos totaled 142 wins in his career; second-most in program history. He also coached the women's soccer team from 2007-2013 and is currently the program's winningest coach with 61 victories.

"My entire experience at Abington had been very impactful in my life," said Castellanos. "The relationships I was able to form and build over the years was amazing. From administrators, coaches, student-athletes and families have all impacted my life."

Castellanos led Abington to seven North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) tournament appearances and three regular season titles while 74 Nittany Lions received All-NEAC honors. Abington was also selected to compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) postseason on four occasions.

Abington won the NEAC regular season title for the first time in 2012 with a 9-1-0 record in conference play. The team reached the NEAC finals that year in their first-ever appearance in the conference tournament. Castellanos led Abington to back-to-back NEAC regular season and tournament titles in 2017 and 2018 as the team finished a combined 20-0-1 in conference play during that championship run. Abington's two conference championships earned the Nittany Lions the NEAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament.

With team success came individual success as Castellanos was selected the NEAC Coach of the Year three times in his career. He took home the honors in 2012, 2016 and 2017.

As beforehand mentioned, Castellanos also served as head coach of the women's soccer program for seven seasons (2007-2013). He led the Nittany Lions to the 2011 NEAC Championship after the team finished 16-2-1 overall and 11-1-0 in conference play. Abington defeated Lancaster Bible College in a penalty kick shootout to claim its first-ever NEAC title.

Castellanos had 16 women's soccer players earn All-NEAC honors as well as having two Goalkeepers of the Year (Emily Lloyd – 2011 & Alyssa Kaye – 2013) and the Rookie of the Year in 2011 (Adriana Rodriguez).

In 15 years at Abington, Castellanos accumulated 203 victories, three NEAC regular season titles and three NEAC championship victories along with two NCAA appearances.

A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Castellanos helped the Huskies capture the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer College Cup in 2000. After graduating from Connecticut in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in sociology, Castellanos played for teams such as the Minnesota Thunder and the Virginia Beach Mariners, both in the United Soccer League. He was also a part of the Colorado Rapids, an MLS team, before finishing his playing career with the Philadelphia KIXX from 2005 until the team's last season in 2010.

Today, Castellanos is the head men's soccer coach at near-by Division I Drexel University.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Philmont Country Club. Registration and cocktail hour begins at 2 p.m. with the ceremony beginning at 3 p.m. The event is open to the public. Ticket sales will end on Jan. 1, 2026. To purchase tickets, click here.

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