Vista Murrieta Players, Friends Sign Letters Of Intent Together

MURRIETA, CA —Murrieta baseball players Cayden Castellanos and Zach Rodriguez have cheered each other on since they were 7-years-old. After playing ball for ten years, they each signed national letters of intent this month to play at D1 schools in the presence of their families, friends, coaches, and school districts.

"I used to play baseball, not thinking of what was to come," Cayden said of his journey. "Signing my NLI made me realize that my dream is closer to reality."

They still have games to play. Vista Murrieta High School baseball coach George Jones said both of the boys are "great leaders."

"They make it fun for me to go to work each day at the baseball fields," Jones said at the NLI day at Vista Murrieta High School. "We're looking for a great senior year from both of them."

Cayden, known as Caydo to his Vista Murrieta fans, and Zach, or Zrod as he's often called, each enjoyed the National Letters of Intent Day to the fullest, according to Mark Castellanos, Cayden's father.

"The future is right, because of the hard work they put in every day, both on and off the field," he told Patch, as proud as any parent could be.

"Cayden and Zach started playing travel ball together about ten years ago," he explained.

Their story is one straight out of the storybooks.

Both Murrieta residents, the boys, started travel ball with a team lovingly then called the Dirt Bags. Together, they moved to Cal Select and finished their travel ball days together in Las Vegas.

"It was a coincidence both of our families moved to Las Vegas at the same time," Castellanos said. "They had a huge opportunity to join the new Las Vegas Recruits (LVR) travel team."

LVR launched both boys into another level, with funding, a great coach, and a vision to help develop young players into "the best young men they could be," Castellanos told Patch.

Work ultimately relocated both families back to Murrieta, where the boys attended the same high school, Vista Murrieta.

The National Letter of Intent day was both bittersweet, and the next phase in the lives of the young athletes.

"I always thought they'd go to college together, too, after the careers they've had," Mark Castellanos said.

Though headed to D1 colleges, Zach will play for the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Cayden Castellanos will play for the University of New Mexico.

"It's an honor to get to move forward and play D1 baseball in 2020," Zach Rodriguez told Patch. He thanked his coaches, all of them, back to when he was seven-years-old. "All of those opportunities amounted to this."

Pen in hand, with his family and friends at his back, Cayden considered how far the two friends have come, the NLI just a stepping stone toward their mutual futures.

"I've been on the same field with Zach for as long as I can remember," he told us. "The fact we are accomplishing all of these things together makes it extra special."