Juan Carlos Menendez '23 Recruiting Profile

My name is Juan Carlos Menendez and I was born and raised in Miami Florida.  I stand tall at 5’10"  and weigh approximately 170lbs. I've Been playing baseball since the age of 4, locally in Miami and throughout the country. Being from South Florida, with such great weather year around, I have been able to play baseball for the last 7 years and loving it. Actually, I have loved the game since I was old enough to understand it. 

My primary position is catcher, but I have played corner infield as well as right field on my days off from catching.  As a young player, I was drawn to catching because I was involved in every pitch and the position kept me focused on the game. As I started to get older, I knew that I was destined to be a catcher.  Throughout the years, I trained with several different catching coaches to develop the skills necessary for blocking, as well as developing the accuracy and arm strength to throw to the bases. I have also worked with several great coaches to become keen on how to call a game depending on the batter and game situation.  As a middle schooler, I was the starting catcher during 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade at St Brendan Elementary School in Miami FL, for Coach Rudy De la Noval. My middle school coach continued to help me excel on how to call a game and gave me the confidence that allowed me to call most games successfully at an early age. I’m currently in my third year of High School (Junior) at Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, FL.  As a 9^th grader, I was the starting catcher for our freshman team both in the fall and spring seasons.  Unfortunately, due to COVID, everyone’s season was cut short.  However, I was fortunate to have access to a private batting cage and was able to continue hitting throughout the shutdowns.  I truly believe that this unexpected break from the field and ability to focus on hitting alone, helped me for last year’s fall and spring seasons.  Last fall, I played on both JV and Varsity, I was the starting catcher on JV and played several different positions on the Varsity team from 1^ST and 3^rd base to DH and outfield.  The opportunity to play a lot of different positions at the varsity level gave me the chance to compete with top level athletes in south Florida.  During the spring season, I was the starting catcher for our JV team.  I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to play the past 2 years for Coach Mike Lowell, ex MLB player.  His mentorship has made an incredible impact on my life as a player and as a person.  I look forward to competing this year to win the starting position on Varsity.  

This past summer I played for Elite Squad (competitive travel team) as I did the summer prior.  Elite Squad has proven to be a great organization that has given me a lot of exposure, great coaching instruction and the ability to play at the most competitive tournaments in the country.  I had a great learning experience from my coach last summer, Joel Carranza who was a college and minor league catcher.  He gave me the opportunity to lead the team as the starting catcher on the Elite Squad 16U American team. It was a truly successful summer, with great stats and overall amazing team chemistry. This made all of us play for each other and excel as a team. 

I can honestly say that I love my high school.  Westminster Christian School is truly a special place.  Not only is the school located on a beautiful campus, but the small class sizes and one on one attention is really helpful in my academic carrier.  As a freshman, I was able to take an AP course, AP Human Geography, along with a strong curriculum and finished the year with a 3.95 GPA and qualified for Honor Roll all 4 quarters.  As a sophomore I maintained a 3.98 GPA and finished strong with a 4.3 GPA. Hoping to continue excelling as Junior academically and as an athlete. 

As I start to plan for college and identify potential schools of choice, I continue to focus on an institution that can challenge me intellectually, emotionally and athletically. It still pretty early, so I am  looking at all options across the country. I do love to snowboard, so this tropical kid is willing to embrace a school located in a state where there is an actual change in seasons.