WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – A two-time ABCA Division III All-America baseball infielder who still ranks among the all-time top three in nine major career categories 16 years after playing his final game, Melvin Castillo-Ferreira '11 has been selected for induction into the Eastern Connecticut State University Athletics Alumni Hall of Fame, it has been announced by committee chair Scott Smith
 
A rugged 5-foot-9 inch, 195-pound right-handed hitter who hit for both average and power, the Danbury native appeared in all possible 191 games (starting all but one) in four years (2007-2010) under Hall of Fame coach Bill Holowaty. He played his first two seasons at shortstop and last two at third base, earning first-team All-Little East Conference honors three times and second-team recognition once, as well as LEC Rookie-of-the-Year accolades as a freshman in 2007.
 
With Castillo-Ferreira's bat in the middle of a stacked lineup, Eastern qualified for the NCAA tournament every year (winning the regional title and reaching the national tournament in 2007), won two Little East Conference regular-season and two LEC tournament titles and compiled an overall record of 140-50-1 (73.6 percent), 46-10 in the LEC regular season (82.1 percent).
 
Castillo-Ferreira is the fourth announced member of the five-person Class of 2026, following the announced induction of former four-year All-Little East Conference volleyball player Adrianna Mihalek '17, who maintains the program standard for career kills; Max Fantl '10, a former four-year All-LEC forward and two-time LEC Offensive Player-of-the-Year in soccer and an all-conference lacrosse midfielder and four-year member of the program; and Christian D'Ambrosio, the former 22-year head women's soccer coach who won a record 240 matches and 13 LEC regular-season and playoff titles from 2000 through 2021.
 
The 32nd induction ceremony  is scheduled for Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 5 p.m. at the campus's Fine Arts Instructional Center's Concert Hall and Lobby, with a social to follow. For ticket information, contact Scott Smith at 860-465-4326 or at smithsc@easternct.edu.
 
"What always impressed me most was that Melvin never sought recognition," stated Walter Diaz, one of Castillo-Ferreira's mentors at Eastern in his role as Vice President of Student Affairs.  "He was soft-spoken, humble, and possessed an extraordinary work ethic. He treated everyone with kindness and respect and would do whatever he could to help others. Those qualities," added Diaz, "earned him the admiration of everyone who knew him and, I'm certain, were the same qualities that made him successful on the baseball field.

Castillo-Ferreira was twice named third-team All-America in his career. In 2007, he became the program's first freshman position player to reap All-America distinction since Alumni Hall of Fame outfielder Len Reed in 1970 (Alumni Hall of Famer Shawn Gilblair was named to the first team at pitcher as a freshman in 2006) when he batted .355 with 14 home runs, 36 extra-base hits, 66 hits, 136 total bases, 58 RBI and 55 runs. In his 2009 All-America season, he equalled or set career-highs with a .388 batting average, 14 home runs, 73 hits, 138 total bases, 60 RBI and 60 runs. He also had 32 extra-base hits.
 
In those two All-America seasons, Castillo-Ferreira led the LEC in home runs and total bases each year and in RBI once and doubles once. In addition to national honors, Castillo-Ferreira was also a three-time ABCA All-New England Region selection (twice as a first-teamer) and a four-time All-ECAC (three times as a first-teamer).
 
In helping the Warriors clinch a perfect (14-0) LEC season as a freshman in 2007, Castillo-Ferreira became the fifth player in program history to hit for the cycle in a 25-5 conference win over Western Connecticut on April 29 at Rogers Park. That year, he helped the Warriors reach the NCAA national tournament by batting .462 (6-for-13) with nine RBI, five runs scored, three home runs, a double and three walks in four regional tournament games. The regional and national tournaments that year capped a power surge that resulted in six home runs over the final nine games and ten over the final 19.
 
As a sophomore in 2008, Castillo-Ferreira shook off his most extensive career slump (.156 over eight games) with four multiple-hit games in the five-game regional tournament that ended the season. In that tournament, he batted .500 (11-for-22) with seven extra-base hits (three home runs and four doubles), ten runs scored, nine RBI, four stolen bases, three walks and a hit-by-pitch.
 
In 20 NCAA tournament games over four years, Castillo-Ferreira batted .375 (30-for-80) with 27 RBI, 23 runs and 15 extra-base hits (seven of them home runs).
 
In 191 career games (fifth all-time), Castillo-Ferreira batted .363 with 46 home runs, 496 total bases, 117 extra-base hits, 231 RBI and 233 runs scored. He recorded 86 multiple-hit games, 63 multiple-RBI games and seven multiple home run games. Seventeen times in his career, he drove in four or more runs, twice plating six in a game.
 
Four times in his career, Castillo-Ferreira hit in ten or more straight games, with a career-high 16 coming when he opened his senior season with a .524 batting average. In the final 30 games of his junior season and first 33 games of his senior season, he reached safely via hit, walk or HBP -- giving him a record 63 straight games having reached base.  
 
In each season of his career, Castillo-Ferreira amassed at least 60 hits (averaging just under 68 per year), 50 runs and 50 RBI and double figures in doubles. Through 2026, Castillo-Ferreira remains the program's all-time leader in home runs, RBI, runs, total bases, and extra-base hits, ranks second in hits (270/two behind the leader) and at-bats (744), third in triples (17) and tied for third in doubles (54). He is also one of five players in program history with as many as 400 career assists (417) and one of four with as many as 100 career walks (100). Additionally, Castillo-Ferreira owns two of the Top 10 season marks for home runs, total bases and extra-base hits.
 
Born in Bonao, DR, Castillo-Ferreira graduated from Danbury High School and  holds a B.A. Degree in Accounting from Eastern and an MBA from Albertus Magnus College.He is employed as chief financial officer for the Connecticut Department of Housing and resides in Cromwell with wife, Dahiangela and three young children.