Sergio Castillo is adding more hardware to his list of personal accolades.
On Wednesday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced the veteran kicker as the recipient of the team’s two annual community service awards: the Ed Kotowich ‘Good Guy Award’ and the Cal Murphy ‘Heart of a Legend Award.’
This marks the first time that one player has won both awards in the same year.
“I wasn’t expecting any of this, so it’s definitely an honour,” said Castillo in a statement. “All I can say is, ‘Wow’ and I’m very appreciative.
“You do things not expecting anything in return. You do it because we have a responsibility, especially playing for the Blue Bombers, to represent the ‘W’ on and off the field.”
The Kotowich award is meant to honour a player who has “excellent football ability, is a leader in the locker room, and shows outstanding effort in the community.” The award was first presented in 1987. Kotowich, its namesake, played for the Blue Bombers from 1955 to 1961 and later served as an alderman, sportscaster, and amateur coach in Winnipeg. He passed away suddenly in 1986.
The Murphy Heart of a Legend award is presented annually to the player who has shown “outstanding sportsmanship and dedication to the Canadian Football League and the community.” The award is named after longtime Blue Bombers head coach and general manager Cal Murphy and was first presented in 2001.
Castillo is a partner of the Dream Factory and KIDTHINK. He has also visited kids and fans in local hospitals, hosted kicking camps, attended flag football clinics, and participated in northern outreach trips during the offseason.
The 35-year-old connected on 48-of-56 field goal attempts in 2025 despite having the longest average attempt in the CFL at 37.5 yards. He set a new team record and tied a CFL record with a 63-yard field goal against the Calgary Stampeders in August. He also made 40-of-43 of his convert attempts.
Castillo has made 85.1 percent of his field goal attempts over 113 regular-season CFL games as a member of the Blue Bombers, Ottawa Redblacks, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, B.C. Lions, and Edmonton Elks. He has won one Grey Cup and earned one All-CFL selection.
The native of La Joya, Texas is a member of the Athletic Hall of Champions at West Texas A&M, his collegiate alma mater.
Castillo signed a two-year contract extension with the Blue Bombers earlier this offseason, tying him to the team through 2027.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were active in free agency, signing receivers Tommy Nield and Tim White, offensive lineman Jarell Broxton, defensive lineman Jake Ceresna, linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox, and defensive back Jonathan Moxey. The team also suffered a few departures, including receiver Keric Wheatfall (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and defensive lineman James Vaughters (Saskatchewan Roughriders). Jake Thomas, the team’s longest-tenured player, retired to become its defensive line coach.
The Blue Bombers hold the fourth overall pick in the 2026 CFL Draft, which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. EDT. All CFL training camps are scheduled to open on May 10. Winnipeg will play its first preseason game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, May 23 and its regular-season game against the Calgary Stampeders on Friday, June 5.
In 2025, Winnipeg finished fourth in the West Division standings with a 10-8 record, qualifying for the playoffs as the crossover team before losing the East Semi-Final to the Montreal Alouettes.
