South Tahoe High grad McCallan Castles heading to play football for Tennessee

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Since graduating from South Tahoe High School in 2018, McCallan Castles has been showing the rest of the football world what South Lake Tahoe already knew the athlete could do.

Castles, who has been playing for U.C. Davis Aggies for the past three years, announced Wednesday that he will be playing for the Tennessee Volunteers next fall. He started his collegiate career with the Cal Bears, playing three games for them in 2018. He transferred to UC Davis early in 2019. The psychology major has one year of eligibility to use at Tennessee.

In 11 games for the Aggies this year, Castles had 30 receptions for 347 yards and two touchdowns and he was second-team All-Big Sky. For the previous two seasons, he played in a total of 17 games, 39 receptions, and 7 touchdowns, and during the COVID 2021 spring football season, he earned first-team All-Big Sky honors. Castles also played defense and was responsible for 6 solo tackles and 1 assist.

On November 28, Castles announced he was going into the transfer portal as a grad transfer. Tennessee announced Wednesday the 6'5" 245-pound tight end was their first commitment out of the transfer portal in the 2023 class.

While an STHS Viking, Castles captured first-team NIAA Class 3A All-Northern Nevada plus second-team All-State. On offense, he completed 102 catches for 2,027 yards and 27 touchdowns in his final two seasons at South Tahoe, and on the defensive side of things he had 34 tackles, including 7.0 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, and three interceptions for the Vikings in that span. Castles also lettered four years in basketball, two in track & field, and one in baseball during his high school years.