The 2026 season will be the second for Samatha Mendez as the Head Coach of the Illinois College softball program.

Her initial season on the Hilltop was a milestone campaign as the Lady Blues finished with 25 victories, including a 13-3 slate in Midwest Conference play. The 25 wins tied the school record for victories in a season, and the team set six single-season school team records (walks – 179, stolen bases - 78, on-base percentage - .412, hits – 349, RBI – 194, and fielding percentage - .967).

Individually, pitcher Jordan Closs posted a scoreless innings streak of 55 2/3, which ranks eighth all-time in NCAA Division III history and was the longest since 2011. She was first-team All-Region 9 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and was joined on the all-region team by Taylor Henry. Closs was also the Midwest Conference Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year and was first-team all-conference. Henry, Kendall Cole, and Brooke Loveall were also on the first team. Shelby Seiler was on the second team. Mendez, along with assistant coaches Kiwi Moran and Payton Cloe, were named the Midwest Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.

Mendez joined the IC program after a stint at the University of Texas Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas, where she was the head coach from 2022-24. 

Before taking the position with the Falcons, Mendez was an assistant coach with Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan., from 2018-22, where she helped the Braves become an NAIA power in four seasons.  

Ottawa won back-to-back regular-season Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championships in 2021 and 2022, winning 81 games in the process.  Along with two straight National Tournament appearances, the Braves reached the NAIA World Series in 2021. She coached back-to-back KCAC Pitcher of the Year, Casson Rasmussen, along with 28 All-Conference and two All-American selections. In 2021, Mendez was part of the staff that was named the NFCA Region IV Coaching Staff of the Year.

Prior to her time at Ottawa, Mendez was an assistant coach at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla., from 2015-18 where she oversaw the catchers and assisted with outfield and base-running. She coached six All-MIAA Selections and one All-American during her time with the Riverhawks. Mendez helped the program to three Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Tournament appearances as well.

Mendez had her first head coaching experience at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa, from 2013-15. She coached eight All-Iowa Community College Athletic Conference selections during her three seasons with the Panthers.

Mendez has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Ottawa and her master’s in Health and Kinesiology from Northeastern State. Her husband, Julian, is an assistant football coach at Washburn University.