NAMPA, Idaho - Northwest Nazarene Director of Athletics Paul Rush has announced that longtime associate head coach Julio Castillo will be the next head coach of the NNU men's soccer program. Castillo will be the 10th head coach in the 48-year history and the seventh coach since joining the NCAA.  

"We feel incredibly blessed to have Julio Castillo ready to lead our Men's Soccer program. Julio has been an incredible part of our community as an All-American athlete and associate head coach. He has served our athletes well over the years, and I am excited to see him step into this leadership role as a mentor and spiritual leader of young men. Julio is the type of person who will help our program achieve excellence on the field, in the classroom and most importantly in the lives of the young men he is entrusted with."
- Paul Rush, NNU Director of Athletics

Castillo is no stranger to NNU having graduated in 2015 while playing for two years. During that span, Castillo scored five goals and recorded 23 assists including a 15 assist senior campaign that set the GNAC single-season record. He was named the GNAC Player of the Year in 2015 and earned Second Team All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Castillo also earned GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors in 2014 while being named to the NSCAA All-America First Team. Prior to NNU, he played two years at Arizona Western College, earning all-conference and all-region honors twice. He started his playing career at the Monterrey Academy in Mexico and played for the Under-15 and Under-17 Mexican National Team and eventually earned a spot on the Under-20 US National Team. After his time as a player at NNU, Castillo went overseas to play for Savsjo in Sweden.

After graduating at NNU and time in Sweden, Castillo returned to Nampa as an assistant in 2017 and 2018 and then spent two seasons in Caldwell, Idaho at College of Idaho (NAIA). He then rejoined the NNU coaching staff in 2021 and was elevated to the title of Associate Head Coach in the summer of 2025.

"I'm extremely excited to take on this new role as Head Coach. I've been part of the Men's Soccer program for many years now and I can't wait to create a new chapter for this group. I believe we will take the next step as a program on and off the field."
- Julio Castillo, NNU Head Men's Soccer Coach

Castillo will take over a program that finished 7-7-4 overall in 2025 and 3-5-2 in GNAC play.