Itzel Caro BRINGS THE ENERGY
The Eastwood senior is all gas, no breaks, and she isn't slowing down anytime soon.
On a bus ride heading northwest, the San Elizario girls’ basketball varsity captain leads an impromptu discussion with her teammates across the varsity and junior varsity programs. She speaks with conviction, emphasizing the significance of the game ahead—their second of the season—and the quality of their opponent.
The year? 2022.
The opponent? The Eastwood Troopers.
A 6A powerhouse, two classifications above San Elizario’s 4A standing. For a small-school program, it’s a rare opportunity to prove themselves against stronger competition.
It’s unclear how many players are locked into the message. Some listen intently, while others let it drift into the background.
But one player hears every word and adds a few of her own.
The junior varsity team takes the floor first.
The opportunity is there, but early on, it’s slipping away.
They enter halftime trailing by double digits, staring at a deficit that demands a dramatic change in energy to overcome.
Then, something shifts.
San Eli cranks up the pressure.
Defensive intensity turns into forced turnovers.
Chaos unfolds.
The deficit shrinks.
One player leads the charge.
She stands out—not just because she’s the loudest on the floor but because her energy is relentless. Her intensity and leadership are unlike anything typically seen at the JV level, fueling the comeback.
From a distance, Eastwood varsity head coach Irene Falk watches with intrigue. As the Troopers lead starts to decrease, she wonders to herself:
“Why is this girl not on varsity?”
From a different vantage point, San Eli varsity head coach Josefina Contreras observes the same thing. But unlike Falk, she already knows who she’s watching.
“She was just unstoppable,” Contreras recalls. “They didn’t know who she was at the JV level. She would go through three or four girls, up and down the floor.”
San Eli erases the deficit.
Then, they take the lead.
“That game was an amazing experience for her because she knew she had potential,” Contreras added. “But for that game and those three months of basketball, she carried that team.”
The final buzzer sounds.
San Elizario wins.
The comeback is complete, fueled by an unknown, unheralded sophomore from Socorro, Texas.
Her name?
Itzel Caro.
Since taking over in 2020, Irene Falk has built Eastwood into a program defined by culture and winning. Her coaching ethos extends beyond the court—she prioritizes developing strong, independent women just as much as she does winning games.
Falk’s success speaks for itself. In five seasons, she has surpassed 100 wins, secured three consecutive 20-win seasons, made four playoff appearances, won a district title, and finished in the top two of 6A three years in a row. In half a decade, she has solidified herself as one of the Borderland’s top program leaders.
Just as Itzel Caro laid the foundation for a comeback win against Eastwood in a 2022 JV game, fate—or maybe just happenstance—was also in motion. Unbeknownst to Caro, that game would be the first of many impactful nights she would spend on Eastwood’s home court.
Over two years, Caro’s parents sought the right academic fit for their daughter. Her journey took her through three high schools in two academic years. She started at IDEA, a charter school in East El Paso, before transferring to San Elizario. When educational opportunities fell through, she moved again to Eastwood, which met her academic needs and also had one of the city’s strongest basketball programs.
“Honestly, I just went with what my parents said,” Caro recounted her third move in two years. “I know they wanted what was best for me at all times.”
Months later, the same girl who caught Coach Falk’s eye in that JV game was now in her gym.
“I first met her, probably on her first day on campus, the first week of the second semester. I had seen her [previously] because we played San Eli when she was on JV. She just absolutely wrecked my JV girls single-handedly,” Falk said with a chuckle.
“I’d be crazy if I didn’t say I wasn’t excited,” Falk continued. “You’re always a little cautious because you want to make sure it’s a good fit. It’s not always about talent. Are they going to fit in with the program and the girls? Is she going to open herself up to the girls? Are the girls going to open up to her? It’s kind of like a puzzle; the pieces all have to fit together. Sometimes you have one wrong piece, and the picture isn’t quite right.”
Unbeknownst to Falk, Caro was already being integrated into her program’s culture. Abigail Ortega, a 2026 prospect for the Troopers, knew Caro from middle school when they played on the same city league team before both joining EP Fusion, a local AAU program in El Paso.
The beginning of their friendship was initially rocky, in part because of their near-equal competitive natures. But not long after meeting, a close bond started to materialize, and a similar sense of humor and a love for food rounded out their gamer mentalities on the court.
They got so close that Ortega likes to jokingly take credit for Caro coming to Eastwood, saying that she personally recruited her.
“She wishes,” Caro said, laughing out loud. “We were obviously really close [playing for EP] Fusion, and I told her I was thinking of transferring. She likes to tell everyone she was the reason I transferred here, but that’s not true. I’ll say this: she told me really good stuff about Eastwood.”
“I kept telling her to move to Eastwood, move to Eastwood, and she did,” Ortega said with a chuckle. I told her she would improve here and have better chances here. I’d bring it up anytime I would see her.”
When asked directly if she recruited Caro, she jokingly responded:
“Yeah! Is that illegal?”
While her friendship with Aby helped smooth the move socially, Itzel’s transition was remarkable for another reason—it avoided the drama that often comes with high school transfers.”
In an era where high school transfers are common, they are often messy. Parents push for more playing time, players grow frustrated with coaches, and program leaders struggle to manage roster movement. These are the stories rarely told but widely discussed in private.
Caro’s transfer, however, was different. Maybe it was her parents prioritizing academics. Maybe it was her previous coach at San Eli understanding and supporting the move. Or maybe it was simply her personality and timing.
“She just bought in,” Falk said. “It’s really hard to be a leader when you don’t practice what you don’t preach. She definitely is going to be one of the hardest workers on the floor, and on top of that, she takes the criticism [well]. One of the things we try to teach the girls is when you are critiquing or picking at someone it has to be with good intentions. If you are going to give it, you have to be able to receive it.
“She’s really light-hearted off the floor; she can laugh at herself, the girls can tease her, so she’s open that way,” Falk concluded. “But she is always a competitor first, so once she steps on that floor, no one is teasing her.”
“I knew Itzel would be successful no matter where she played,” Contreras added. “She could have stayed at San Eli, and we would have been really successful. So it doesn’t matter if it is a 4A, 5A, or 6A school; wherever she’s at, there are girls that will follow her because she’s that type of leader.”
Her energy made her a seamless fit at Eastwood, but it also became her biggest challenge.
Learning to communicate is a crucial developmental step in high school basketball. For most players, finding their voice on the court is a challenge. With nearly 700 varsity players across 44 high school programs in the Borderland, you seldom find a prospect with a voice that is distinctively theirs.
Itzel Caro is the epitome of a distinctive voice and emotive play. She can be identified by shadow, sound, and silhouette.
“She’s different for sure,” said Aarom Marquez, Caro’s AAU head coach from EP Heart, one of the top programs in El Paso. Although her time with Marquez and EP Heart has been relatively short, it didn’t take long for Marquez to see what makes Caro stand out.
“It’s rare,” Marquez said, referring to how Caro emotes. “You see it a lot on the boy's side [with how they celebrate], but she does that. There aren’t that many girls like that. It’s great when it’s on your team. Honestly, I don’t know another girl who does that.”
Similar to Coach Falk’s concerns about integrating a new player into an established culture, Marquez was initially unsure how Caro would fit. After all, EP Heart already had some of the Borderland’s top players—Eastwood’s Victoria Duran, one of the best 2026 point guards, and Kylie Marquez, Aarom’s daughter, a standout talent regardless of classification or position.
The roster was loaded, but it lacked one thing.
“It’s one of the things I worried about at first,” Marquez said. “But honestly, when I say perfect fit, it was. She came on and was just one of the most coachable people: never talked back and just wanted to win. She played hard no matter what, but just her attitude, it was contagious, and right away, the girls [knew] she belonged with us.”
Caro’s story paints a picture of adaptability and positive emotional expression, but it wasn’t always that way. The high-energy wing has had to learn how to color inside the lines.
“When I first saw her play her freshman year, it’s the way she is now: nonstop, high motor,” Marquez said. “But back then, it was a little out of control.”
Marquez wasn’t alone. At Eastwood, Coach Falk saw the same fire—sometimes, too much of it.
“I’ve noticed it,” Marquez continued, referring to the moments where Caro emotionally tips over. “I haven’t had her long, but I’ve seen it in games. One game, it wasn’t going her way; shots weren’t falling, and I saw her mood change. She was mad at herself because she’s the ultimate competitor. I would call a timeout, give her a break, then she goes back in and still gives it 110 percent. But she’s learned how to control [her emotions].”
Falk’s experience with Caro bears plenty of similarities, but given that she has spent more time with her, she understands how that intensity manifests in key game moments.
The frustration fouls.
“Coach hates when I do that,” Caro said. “The way I like to think about it is that I have a lot of passion. So when things aren’t going the right way, things start adding up, and that’s when the frustration fouls happen. Most of the time, Coach yells at me and just takes me out so I can have a breather. That helps a lot; I’ll just sit down, Coach will talk to me, I do my breathing [exercises], I’m good, then boom, next play.”
“I’m the type of player where it [my frustration] shows,” Caro added. “But I’ve improved a lot. My sophomore year was a rollercoaster with my emotions. Coach Josefina [Contreras] helped me through it, and once I got here, Coach Falk saw it as well, and she helped me out. I just started getting better at it throughout the years and games. Then I started to realize what I had to do to relax myself.”
At this point, some of the frustration fouls have a purpose. At specific points in a game where Eastwood is trailing, Caro is known to break up an opponent’s fastbreak opportunity with a not-so-subtle shove.
Caro likes to think of them as strategic, but not everyone on the team shares that sentiment.
“That’s how I like to think about it,” Caro said with a wide smile. “That’s how I [explain it] to Coach, but she ain’t buying it.”
On February 14, 2025, the final buzzer echoed out on Itzel Caro’s time as an Eastwood Trooper.
After another successful season that saw the Troopers win 24 games and a bi-district title, Eastwood lost to the Boswell Pioneers of Fort Worth, Texas, in the Area Round.
However, for Caro, the book on her basketball career is not ending; one chapter is closing as another begins. For all that is made about Caro’s energy, vocality, and the essential intangibles she brings to the game, the kid can hoop.
Caro is one of the top 2025 senior prospects in the Borderland, impacting every facet of the game. She’s one of the best defensive players in girls’ 6A basketball and was the second-leading scorer for Eastwood this season.
Caro’s college basketball future is certain—the only question is where. She received an offer from York University and has received interest from Colorado College and Sul Ross State University.
“I don’t want to stop,” Caro said when assessing her options post-high school. “I still have love for this sport and the ability to play it. So as long as I have that, I want to continue playing, and I see myself playing at the collegiate level.”
Wherever Caro chooses, the roadmap to a successful career as a college player is well paved. She’s strong academically, brings unique skills on the court, and puts in the work off the court.
Coach Falk estimates Caro watches two to three hours of tape a week in preparation for games. Whether she knows it or not, Caro is building a foundation for something that will extend her relationship with basketball long after she plays.
“I’ll be honest, she is going to be a coach one day,” Falk said. “There is no doubt in my mind that she is going to be a coach one day.”
“Maybe she’ll take over for me,” Falk added somewhat jokingly. “She can go to college, come back, and maybe I can get her coaching at Eastwood.”
Falk’s strong conviction in that notion comes from Caro’s qualities as a leader—one of “the best vocal leaders” she’s ever had—and as a high-IQ player.
“I really do see myself coaching one day,” Caro said. “I really do hope I end up doing something like that, but we’ll see. That might be one of my goals [long term], actually.”
In some ways, she’s already started. Caro helps coach her little sister’s team, West Texas Premier. Even in a volunteer capacity, Caro is starting to learn the nuances of coaching and how it goes beyond X’s and O’s, in addition to some funny observations of middle school “kids.”
“Sometimes I forget [their age],” Caro said as she struggled to remember the age of her sister and teammates. “She’s acting like she’s grown, and it’s like, girl, calm down. You know, these middle schoolers these days, they be acting different.”
If one thing bears weight, coaches usually have an eye for future coaches. But for Falk’s sake, let's just hope that Caro is on her bench and not on the opposing side because if she is…
She will have to bring That Energy.