MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | Sun Conference Commissioner Dustin Wilke is happy to announce that Florida Memorial University's men's developmental basketball coach and men's assistant basketball coach Joshua Mendoza has been appointed as the new Commissioner of the Sun Conference Men's Basketball D-League, effective immediately.

"Coach Mendoza is very familiar with our league and how it operates, so I expect a seamless transition as we head into a new year," said Wilke.

Mendoza comes from Ft. Lauderdale (Broward County) and attended Cypress Bay High School, where he was a member of the varsity basketball team. He was later recruited by and received a scholarship to play collegiate basketball at Johnson and Wales University. After his time with the Wildcats, Coach Mendoza played overseas for a total of three years, signing to both Osos de La Salle (Peru) and Atleticos de San German (Puerto Rico).

"I really enjoyed my experience playing ball overseas," Mendoza explained, "but more for the travel (over the basketball) because I got a chance to see so many new places that I may never have been able to see. Don't get me wrong, I was part of multiple championship teams, and I met lifelong friends, but visiting a ton of new places was the experience of a lifetime for me."

After the pandemic halted his playing career overseas, he started his own training business called the Creation Basketball Academy, which still runs as of today.

Further down the road, Mendoza's former head coach at his alma mater (Johnson and Wales) hired him as an assistant coach.

"Since the pandemic affected a bunch of college athletics programs, including ours at Johnson and Wales, that led me to apply at Florida Memorial University," said Mendoza. "They wanted to start a developmental program, and that got my attention. Once the position opened, I felt I was ready to take on the task."

In the fall of 2020, Mendoza coached the FMU Men's Basketball Developmental team in its inaugural season.

"During my first season, I recruited a ton of student-athletes, so we made a second development team the next season," said Coach Mendoza. "It was humbling at first, especially coming in from where we started."

By the second season, Mendoza led the Lions to their first-ever Sun Conference Men's Basketball D-League Championship.

Catch Mendoza and his teams on October 24 for the season opener against Palm Beach Prep and Miami Sports Academy. Mendoza also serves as the men's assistant basketball coach.