Arizona men’s golf, swimming and diving add assistant coaches

Arizona men’s golf and swimming and diving made assistant coach hires in recent weeks to round out their respective staffs.

Men’s golf added Matt Walton to its staff, replacing assistant James Vargas, who departed for a similar position at Texas Tech. Walton arrives in Tucson following three seasons as an assistant at USC.

With the Trojans, Walton was credited with helping guide Kaito Onishi Jr. to First Team all-conference honors in 2021 and Jackson Rivera to a second team selection in 2022.

Walton previously coached at Wichita State.

Arizona men’s golf head coach Jim Anderson said of the hire, “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Matt and (wife) Carly to our Wildcat Family. Matt’s values, work ethic and aptitude align perfectly with our culture and his experience structuring performance plans and recruiting elite players across multiple continents will bolster current and future teams. He has quickly become a very well-respected coach in our industry, and I know we will benefit from his service to our players and leadership in our program.”

Arizona is coming off a seventh-place finish at Pac-12 Championships and an NCAA Regional appearance.

Swimming and diving hired Chad Castillo to round out its coaching staff. Castillo, a Tucson native, joins the program as a full-time coach after serving as a volunteer assistant last season.

Castillo previously spent five years as head coach of the Salpointe Catholic High School women’s swimming team.

“I am tremendously excited to bring coach Castillo onto our staff,” Arizona head coach Augie Busch said. “He has worked hard and earned this opportunity. Chad has huge potential as a Division I coach through his teaching skills and relationship-centered approach. I have no doubt that he will become an excellent recruiter as well. I coached Chad as a high schooler and he has always been a genuine, kind, and positive person. I think he’s going to be a difference maker for our program; I can’t wait to work with him.”

Castillo joins Arizona swimming legend Amanda Beard on the coaching staff.