Pacific Northwest and international beloved Wayne Mendezona was named the eleventh head coach in Warrior men's basketball program history in the summer of 2025. Mendezona brings decades of both collegiate and professional head coaching experience to the City on a Hill, including stints with fellow Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) and NAIA full-time members where he set school records and clinched program-first after program-first.
"Coach Mendo's wealth of experience and knowledge of both Corban University and the CCC make him a great fit to lead the men's basketball team forward," explained Pilgeram. "We are excited to see what God has planned for the next chapter of Corban men's basketball under his leadership!"
Affectionately referred to as "Coach Mendo" in the basketball community, Mendezona has an incredibly diverse coaching and mentoring background dating back to the late 1980s, with his collegiate and professional playing days beginning in 1979 at NWAC member Umpqua Community College following his graduation from Reed High School.
After competing for the Riverhawks during the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons, Mendezona transferred to Judson Baptist College to conclude his collegiate basketball career before journeying across the Atlantic Ocean to play in both Germany and Austria as a professional athlete. During the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons, he had the opportunity to both play and coach within the TSV Muhltal and Union Basket Sport Club European organizations and competed in major European tournaments and exhibitions against the French Olympic Team where he averaged over 38 points per game and led the UBSC squad to a first-place regular season finish within the league.
Once his playing days came to a close, Coach Mendo returned to the United States where he was immediately hired on at NCCAA Tennessee Temple University as an assistant coach. In three seasons with the Crusaders, Mendezona helped lead the program to 75 total wins and two NCCAA DII National Championship titles before packing his bags once again for what would eventually become a seven-year international coaching stint across the Middle East.
From 1990 to 1994, Coach Mendo served as the head coach for five different programs in Bahrain, including the 1991-92 Bahrain National Team, two club squads, and a local high school program before making the six-hour drive north to the country of Kuwait for a three-year stint with the Sahel Club that participates within the Kuwait Division I Basketball League.
With over a combined decade of international coaching experience now under his belt, Mendezona returned to the Pacific Northwest to head the men's basketball program at fellow CCC member Northwest University from 1996 to 2000, where he compiled a pair of 20-plus win seasons, three-consecutive CCC Tournament appearances, back-to-back NCCAA DI National Tournament bids, five CCC All-Conference selections, and multiple NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll ratings. In the 1998-99 season, Mendezona directed Northwest to a 24-10 overall record to tie for the second most within the CCC and to this date represents a top five single season win total in Eagles' program history.
Following his four-year stint with the Eagles, Coach Mendo remained in the NAIA and traveled down the west coast to Simpson University from 2000 to 2004 and helped lead the Red Hawks to their most wins in school history and at the time, the most wins by a single program in California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) history. His 2002-03 Simpson program finished with 21 wins and went on to finish third in the NCCAA National Championships in Oklahoma City.
His most recent collegiate head coaching stint was with Portland Community College from 2005 to 2008, where he clinched the second most wins in a single season in program history in just his first season of competition with the Panthers. Since 2008, Mendezona has made single season appearances back in Bahrain and Kuwait for a pair of club teams in Muharraq and Kazma, respectively.
Over the past thirty years, Coach Mendo founded and continues to train a systematic skill development program called Quick Handle Basketball, specializing in first step, release shooting, and post/point guard development. The program is centered around his innovative and popular mental toughness training program, designed to increase confidence and master high-pressure situations. Since founding Quick Handle Basketball in 1994, Mendezona has administered his program in camps, clinics, and academies all over the United States and in select nations overseas to well over 50,000 different participants as a coach, speaker, and trainer.
In addition to Quick Handles, Coach Mendo founded and serves as president for Next Step Atheltics, a non-profit organization committed to youth basketball development and giving opportunities to economically challenged families. Next Step Athletics has provided Mendezona with the opportunity to disciple and empower student-athletes to grow in their faith, leading many families and individuals to Christ through the game of basketball by viewing the sport as a ministry and their lives as testimonies of faith.
Academically, Mendezona holds a master's degree in divinity from Luther Rice Seminary that he received in 1990 and earned his bachelor's degree in biblical studies from Luther Rice as well in 1987. He is also a 2002 master's degree recipient from the United States Sports Academy and has been a licensed coach with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) since 2015. He has authored five books and produced six unique basketball training videos during his 33-year instructive history.
"I am deeply honored and excited to join the Corban University family as the head men's basketball coach," Mendezona shared when asked about his recent appointment as the newest Warrior on campus. "For me, this is more than just a coaching opportunity, it's a divine assignment to lead, mentor, and disciple young men through the game I love. My goal is to build a Christ-centered culture marked by toughness, humility, and purpose, where our student-athletes grow as both competitors and Kingdom leaders. Let's go, Warrior Nation!"
Coach Mendo and his wife Terri have four children, Jessica, Tyler, Dominique, and Alexandra along with 13 grandchildren. Mendezona is expected to join the Corban Athletic staff in the coming days ahead of the 2025-26 school year, with the program's full winter schedule, recruiting class, and season preview to follow later this fall.
