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The Camarillo, California native was a four-time First-Team All-American for her alma mater’s Softball Program, Stanford University, while also serving as a starter for the USA Softball Women’s National Team from 2001 through 2010. During her tenure with the USA Olympic Softball Team, Mendoza captured the Gold Medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games as well as a Silver Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Mendoza is currently the starting Left-Fielder for the National Pro Fastpitch USSSA Florida Pride where she earned the league’s MVP honors in 2011 among many other accolades.
“I am so excited to be a part of the EvoShield family!” said Mendoza. “I have been using the product for the past three years and look forward to continue help developing the BEST products for female athletes to be successful.”
Mendoza, who is a right-handed thrower that bats left, wears the EvoShield Protective Batter’s Elbow Guard, the latest advancement in hitting protection, every time at bat to protect her throwing arm.
When not competing on the diamond, Mendoza has been active on a number of other sports-related fronts. In addition to her work as a color analyst for sports network ESPN, she is a past president (2009-2010) of the Women’s Sports Foundation and also serves as an Athletic Ambassador for Team Darfur and Right to Play. Mendoza’s most recent accomplishment was this year when she was chosen by the Secretary of State to be an Athlete Ambassador for the U.S. State Department where her duties consist of traveling abroad to help strengthen the United States relations through sport with her reputable background and platform.
“Softball players and fans all over the world look up to Jessica Mendoza for her accomplishments both on and off the field,” said Ashley Raborn, Director of Softball for EvoShield. “Her knowledge and love for the game will help us build EvoShield Softball in to a global brand with players and fans of all ages and skill level. We are very excited for Jessica to officially join the EvoShield family as we have had the pleasure of knowing her as a player and a friend of EvoShield for several years.”
Offering personalized protection for today’s athletes, EvoShield’s Gel-To-Shell Technology eliminates “one size fits all” protection and guarantees a perfect fit for every athlete. The chosen Protective Gear for over 275 Professional and Collegiate teams worldwide, EvoShield is thinner, lighter, and stronger than traditional foam and plastic gear. Protect your Advantage with EvoShield’s Game-Changing Protective Gear.
In addition to the Elbow Guard, EvoShield protective gear for softball includes Wrist and Forearm Guards, Catcher’s Thumb Guards, Chest/Heart Guards, Batter’s Leg Guards, and more. More than 60 NCAA softball teams and all four NPF teams – the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Carolina Diamonds and USSSA Pride – use EvoShield Protective Gear.
EvoShield also safeguards some of the biggest individual names in sports. Mendoza is joining a growing “EvoArmy” that includes MLB players Troy Tulowitzki (Colorado Rockies), Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh Pirates), Gordon Beckham (Chicago White Sox) and Yadier Molina (St. Louis Cardinals), NHL stars Shane Doan (Phoenix Coyotes) and Blake Geoffrion (Montreal Canadiens), and Heisman winner and second round draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft Robert Griffin III (Washington Redskins).
Called “the best hitter on the planet” by her ESPN colleague Graham Hays, Mendoza was the 2006 USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year and in 2008 was recognized as the Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year, from the team sport category. She is both a three-time world champion and three-time World Cup champion in softball, as well as a two-time Pan American Games Gold Medalist.
At Stanford, Mendoza became only the fifth NCAA athlete to be named first-team All- American four years in a row. She was the Pac-10 Softball Newcomer of the Year in 1999 and Player of the Year the following season. She still owns several Cardinal single-season softball records, including batting average (.475), hits (94), stolen bases (31) and runs (71). She also is No. 1 in career home runs at the school, with 50. In addition, Mendoza is currently fifth in the NCAA in career doubles, with 70. She was a three-time Stanford Female Athlete of the Year and a first-team Academic All-American (in 2002). She was inducted Nov. 9, 2012, into Stanford’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Mendoza broke into the NPF with the Arizona Heat in 2005 and hit .491 as a rookie. Five years later, her USSSA Pride have been very successful as the 2010 NPF Cowles Cup Champion and Regular Season Champions in both 2011 and 2012. This past season, Mendoza recorded a .337 average with nine home runs and 39 RBIs, leading the Pride to its third straight championship series.
Mendoza, who is of Mexican descent, was inducted in 2006 into the Latin Sports Hall of Fame. In 2008, she was named to the Canada Cup All-Star Team.
Mendoza joined ESPN in 2007 as a college softball analyst and now also covers MLB and college football games for the network. In addition, she is an online contributor to espnW.com, which connects female fans to the sports they love and follow, and serves on the advisory board for the website.
EvoShield is an Official Protective Gear Supplier of Major League Baseball and its products are part of the MLB Authentic Collection. EvoShield is also a Promotional Partner of the National Pro Fastpitch League. EvoShield’s Game Changing Protective Apparel – including protective gear for softball, baseball, football, lacrosse, soccer, hockey and outdoor recreation – is sold nationally in a variety of retail outlets and comes with a perfect-fit guarantee. For more information, visit www.evoshield.com.
About USSSA Florida Pride:
The USSSA Florida Pride is a professional franchise in the National Pro Fastpitch League that is owned and operated by USSSA. The amateur organization of USSSA has multi-sport coverage and encompasses teams and players from the United States and abroad.
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL). NPF is the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball in the category of women’s fastpitch softball since 2002.
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, USSSA is the World’s Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!