Castaldo joins the coaching staff after finishing up an impressive collegiate career as a Retriever for the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). As a captain guard, she was a three-year starter and four-year letter winner with the Retrievers from 2015-2018. She was a Second Team All-Conference player and scored over 1,000 points. She was 18th in program history in scoring, fifth in games played, sixth in minutes played, sixth in three pointers made, and sixth in free throw percentage over her four years at UMBC.
Castaldo played four years of varsity basketball for Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack, N.Y. from 2011-2014. She was a Second Team All-State Selection as a senior and led her team to a 22-1 record. She is third all-time in scoring for the Vikings with over 1,500 points as well as 12th all-time in Rockland County scoring history.
She was nominated by the NCAA to attend the WBCA “So, You Want To Be A Coach” program at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Columbus, Ohio in March 2018. Castaldo was also nominated by the NCAA for 2018 Woman of the Year.
Castaldo resides in New City, N.Y.
“I am honored and excited to join the Mavericks, and am looking forward to creating a winning culture for the Mercy Women’s Basketball Program. I am excited to take my experiences as a basketball player and use them to help mold other student-athletes both on and off the court,” remarked Castaldo.
“Laura had a great playing career for a great program. The acceptance into the "you want to be a coach" program is a great honor. My first conversation with Laura I felt like she had been coaching for years, we are excited to have her,” remarked Lagas.
