NIACC's Mendez signs with San Jose State

SAN JOSE, Calif. – NIACC sophomore Autam Mendez signed a national letter of intent Wednesday to play basketball next season at San Jose State University.

The NIACC transfer is joined in the 2020 class by Sophia Jones and Alani Fluker, both of whom signed with San Jose State last November.

Jones, who is from Weston, Fla., was named the Florida 7A player of the year last month. Fluker, who is from San Antonio, Texas, was a McDonald's all-American nominee.

Mendez, a 5-foot-10 guard from Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minn., joins a San Jose State squad that is coming off one of its best seasons in school history.

"I'm very grateful to get the opportunity to play there and that level," Mendez said. "I've always wanted to play Division I basketball. I'm very excited to join their program."

San Jose State was 19-12 in 2019-20 and 12-6 in the Mountain West Conference. The Spartans advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament before falling to Fresno State, 94-68.

The Spartans won six games in the 2018-19 season so the 19 wins last season was the biggest turn around in NCAA Division I women's basketball. The 19 wins by the Spartans was the third most in school history and the most in 40 years.

In a San Jose State press release, head coach Jamie Craighead called Mendez "the perfect fit for what we were looking for with this late signing period."

"We feel very fortunate to find someone with her ability that is well-rounded, can really shoot the basketball from deep, rebounds tremendously for her size and is already accustomed to playing in an up-tempo system."

Mendez, who was the NJCAA Division II national player of the year, averaged 16.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in the 2019-20 season. She accumulated 12 double-doubles as a sophomore as the Lady Trojans were 32-1 and claimed the NJCAA Region XI title for the second consecutive season.

Mendez, who scored 489 points as a sophomore, connected on 81 3-point goals with 245 rebounds, 64 steals and 55 assists.

Mendez ranks third on the school's career scoring list with 1,045 points, third on the school's career 3-point list with 164 and third on the school's career rebounding list with 538.

Mendez is the only player in NIACC women's history with 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 100 career 3-point goals.

"Autam is tough, competitive and a winner," Craighead said. "She will make an immediate impact in our program and we can't wait to get her on campus."

Coming out of high school at Cretin-Derham Hall, Mendez said she knew she wasn't ready to play at the NCAA Division I level.

 "I didn't really know until this year," she said. "Coming out of high school, I thought I didn't.

"And then last year I thought maybe if I have a good year next year. When I started talking to Division I coaches, it helped with my confidence and realized I could go Division I."