By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – Ryan Ridder secured the final piece of the 2023-24 roster as the third-year University of Tennessee at Martin head men’s basketball coach announced the signing of junior guard Sebastian Mendoza today.
Mendoza joins the Skyhawks out of San Bernardino Valley College, where he played last season under head coach Quincy Brewer. Mendoza spent his first two collegiate seasons at San Jose State University under head coaches Tim Miles and Jean Prioleau.
“Sebastian is the ultimate teammate,” Ridder said. “He comes from a winning program and is a big guard who can make shots but also make plays for himself and others. We’re excited to add a talented player like Sebastian this late in the summer.”
Standing at 6-3 and weighing in at 195 pounds, Mendoza averaged 13.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals while starting all 31 games last season at SBVC, helping the Wolverines go 27-4 overall en route to a 16-0 league record and an Inland Empire Athletic Conference championship. He shot 36.7 percent (65-of-177) from three-point range and knocked down 80.3 percent (53-for-66) of his free throw attempts while boasting a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. In conference play, Mendoza’s numbers improved across the board to the tune of 14.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals per contest while sinking 38.8 percent (38-of-98) of his three-point tries and shooting 90 percent (18-for-20) from the charity stripe, jumping his assist-to-turnover ratio to 2.4.
Mendoza scored in double figures 25 times in 2022-23, including four games of at least 20 points. His season-high of 22 points came in the Nov. 11 season opener against Compton (10-of-18 shooting) and at Victor Valley (10-for-16 shooting with a season-best six assists) on Jan. 11. He also was efficient in 20-point performances against Fullerton (6-of-9 shooting on Nov. 29) and against Barstow (7-for-11 shooting – including a season-best six three-pointers and six assists – on Jan. 18).
Mendoza canned multiple three-pointers on 21 separate occasions, including 10 instances of three-plus triples. He accounted for six double-doubles, including a 19-point, season-best 11-rebound effort at Palo Verde on Feb. 11. He also equaled a season-high with 11 rebounds against Mt. San Jacinto on Jan. 7. He dished out at least three assists in 14 games and was a menace defensively, piling up 15 multi-steal games and a pair of multi-block performances. He recorded at least four steals on separate occasions, including a season-high seven swipes in a near triple-double (17 points, nine rebounds) against Copper Mountain on Dec. 14.
At San Jose State, Mendoza broke through as a starter as a true freshman – appearing in all 21 games and making four starts (including the final three contests of the season) in 2020-21. That season, he averaged 7.0 points and swished a team-high 38.7 percent (29-for-75) of his attempts from three-point land.
Mendoza scored in double figures six times – all against Mountain West Conference competition – as a freshman, including a career-best 16 points (on 5-for-5 shooting, including 4-of-4 from three-point range) in just 24 minutes against New Mexico on Jan. 23, 2021. He also added 15 points against Colorado State (Jan. 16), 14 points against UNLV (Feb. 21), 14 points at San Diego State (Feb. 10), 13 points against Air Force (Jan. 30) and 11 points at Utah State (Dec. 21). He sank multiple three-pointers in eight separate games, tying his career-high with four makes while tacking on a career-best seven rebounds and two blocks in the aforementioned Feb. 10 road contest at San Diego State. He also added four multi-steal performances (all coming in the final 10 games of the season).
A Riverside, Calif. native, Mendoza saw playing time in two games in 2021-22 with his best game coming against Bethesda (six points, career-high seven assists, five rebounds, two steals in 21 minutes) on Jan. 8.
Mendoza averaged 17.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game as a senior at Hillcrest High School. He earned MaxPreps Division 3 all-state, All-California Interscholastic Federation 3AA and Press-Enterprise all-area accolades in his final high school season. He had a 30-point, 13-rebound performance against Redlands East Valley and also posted 41 points against San Gabriel and a near triple-double (25 points, nine rebounds, nine assists) against Beaumont. He earned CIF Southern Section All-3AA team honors during his junior season, averaging a double-double of 29.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. The best game of his prep career came during his junior season against Grand Terrace as he went off for 49 points and 20 rebounds.
Mendoza is one of eight newcomers on the Skyhawks’ 2023-24 roster as the program is coming off a 19-win campaign, their third-most Ohio Valley Conference victories in school history (10) and a berth in the OVC Championship semifinals for the first time since 2017.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information
