BASEBALL ALUMNI
JOSH MELENDEZ // CLASS OF ‘11
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Photo courtsey of Josh Melendez.
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rom NJCAA College World Series to NCAA Regionals, former center fielder Josh Melendez has come a long way since being a Gecko. Yet, he still misses everything about it. “I loved every moment at GateWay, and I don’t regret anything I have done,” he said. Since he graduated from GateWay in 2011, he went on to major in chemical engineering and play outfield for the University of New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque. The Chandler native was named Mountain West’s Baseball Player of the Week twice throughout his two-year baseball career with the Lobos, including MVP at the Mountain West Tournament in 2012. Recently, he was also named the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team for his hard work in athletics and academics. In May, Melendez helped take his team to the NCAA regionals where his team played against heavy hitters like Arizona State and University of Las Vegas. Unfortunately, New Mexico fell to Columbia. This is Melendez’s last season playing for the Lobos. He said he decided to stop playing baseball
to focus on his last year on school. He also wants to dedicate himself to a chemical engineering internship at ProPetro Services in Texas. Melendez said he still misses his days at GateWay. His team and Head Baseball Coach Rob Shabansky were the first in GateWay history to go to the NJCAA World Series in Enid, Okla. “I miss playing for Chubby — he was one of the best coaches I’ve ever had,” he said.