IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior Sebastian Castro has been named to the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (OSHOF) announced Wednesday.
The preseason watch list is selected by a screening committee whose members compile a list of players based on previous performance in NCAA Division I college football and preseason All-America lists. Castro (5-foot-11, 205-pounds) was one of 42 defensive backs named to the watch list.
Castro has also been named a 2024 Athlon preseason fourth-team All-American and second-team All-Big Ten selection. The Oak Lawn, Illinois, native was included on the Bronko Nagurski Watch List on Tuesday.
As a junior, Castro was a Pro Football Focus first-team All-American and an Associated Press third-team All-American. He also was named Phil Steele honorable mention All-America and second-team All-Big Ten. Castro was voted second-team All-Big Ten by league media and honorable mention All-Big Ten by league coaches.
Castro led the team with eight pass break-ups and three interceptions in 2023. Those totals ranked fourth and ninth in the Big Ten, respectively. He finished the year with 67 tackles (47 solo, 20 assists), including eight tackles for a loss.
Committee members will vote on a list of semifinalists to be announced on Oct. 29, with a group of three finalists to be announced on Nov. 26. A panel of over 250 sports writers, sportscasters, former players and coaches will vote to determine the winner of the 2024 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. The award winner will be announced on the ESPN live presentation of The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 12.
Former Hawkeye cornerbacks Cooper Dejean and Riley Moss were Thorpe Award semifinalists in 2023 and 2021, respectively. Desmond King won the Thorpe Award in 2015 and was a semifinalist the following season, while Josh Jackson was a finalist for the award in 2017.
Iowa opens the 2024 season Aug. 31, hosting Illinois State inside Kinnick Stadium beginning at 11 a.m. (CT).
