Prospect Spotlight: Cole Kastner (2020)
With great size, a multitude of skill-sets and a proclivity to hit the books, Menlo School’s 6-foot-7 forward Cole Kastner is definitely a catch.
Plenty of Ivy League schools have been taking notice of the versatile junior, plenty of other Division I schools could be in the mix before too long.
A wing, a guard and a post, Kastner excels at playing a variety of positions on the floor, and guarding a variety as well.
“I’m pretty versatile, especially for my high school team. We’re primarily a guard based team, which has been really helpful for me and developing my versatility. I can guard the point guard and I guard the center in other games, I can really play wherever,” said Kastner.
This past spring and summer he generated plenty of exposure while playing on the adidas Gauntlet with both his regular team Team Arsenal, and while playing with Team Lillard at the adidas Gauntlet Finale in New York.
“It was a really great experience, obviously playing on the adidas Gauntlet, there’s not much better competition than that,” said Kastner. “I had a lot of fun and I know I got a lot better.”
Now, he’ll shift his focus to a junior season at Menlo School. The Knights went 25-4 last year with a point guard who’s now at Lehigh and two other senior starters.
“The three seniors that started accounted for about 70 percent of our scoring, and I had about 20 percent. With them being gone, it really opens up a huge role for me,” said Kastner. “I’m the main guy; I’m the one who’s scoring, and I’m the guy with the ball late in the games. It’s going to be a great year, and I’m really excited.”
Kastner — who is also a D1 Lacrosse prospect — is seeing a slew of college interest come in for hoops. And still has two high school seasons and big 17U season ahead of him to see his recruitment materialize.
Specifically, there’s plenty of Ivy interest coming his way. Kastner says he’s heard from Princeton, Yale and Columbia. UC San Diego, Eastern Washington, UC Davis and Lehigh have shown interest, too.
He’ll visit Princeton and Yale later this month. And he verified, not surprisingly, that academics will be very key in his eventual decision-making process.
“Academics have always been one of the most important things in my life, and so academics is definitely going to be a big part in my decision,” said Kastner, who mentioned Menlo School is one of the best in California. “I want to go to a really good academic school where I can have a really good balance of both academics and athletics.“
He added: “Academics are important because, obviously, that’s going to set me up for the rest of my life, and I’m just looking forward to whatever opportunities I get.”