San José, Calif. – San José State head women's basketball coach Jamie Craighead has announced the signing of guard Autam Mendez to a National Letter of Intent. The St. Paul, Minn. product will be eligible to compete for the Spartans beginning in the 2020-21 season.
"Autam is the perfect fit for what we were looking for with this late signing period," says Craighead. "We feel very fortunate to find someone of her ability that is well-rounded, can really shoot the basketball from deep, rebounds tremendously well for her size and already is accustomed to playing in an up-tempo system."
Mendez shined as a multi-sport athlete at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul before playing two seasons at North Iowa Area CC. She shined in both her freshman and sophomore seasons with the Trojans and was named the NJCAA Division II Player of the Year last week.
The guard averaged 16.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game on the 2019-20 campaign. She poured in a career-high 48 points in a Feb. 26 victory, a performance that included 11 makes from three-point range. Mendez finished the season with 12 double-doubles and leaves NIACC as the only player in school history with 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 100 career 3-point goals, accomplishing the feat in just two years.
Signed. Sealed. Delivered.
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) April 16, 2020
The reigning @NJCAA DII Player of the Year is now a Spartan!@autam_m1 ?? pic.twitter.com/4d3QkfV2Nl
Prior to her most recent record-setting season, Mendez averaged 16.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game as a freshman. She earned first-team All-Region honors that year and was selected to the region's All-Tournament team.
"Autam is tough, competitive and a winner," Craighead says. "She will make an immediate impact in our program and we can't wait to get her on campus."
Mendez finished her junior college career making 58 starts in 63 appearances. As a sophomore, she shot the ball at a 41 percent clip from the field and averaged 1.104 points per possession in transition.
The NIACC transfer is joined in the 2020 class by Sophia Jones and Alani Fluker, both of whom signed with SJSU last November. Jones was named the Florida 7A Player of the Year last month while Fluker was named as a McDonald's All-American nominee back in January.
San José State is fresh off one of its best seasons in school history as the team's 19 victories marked the program's most in the last 40 years.