Jessica Mikesell begins her first season as a coach, assisting Lori Kwiatkowski of the Cougar staff.
Mikesell is a former 4-year Cougar first baseman. After enduring an injury-plagued first 2 seasons which limited her to just 24 game appearances, Mikesell rebounded to put together back-to-back strong junior and senior campaigns. In her final 81 games as a Cougar, Mikesell batted .379 with 22 doubles, 7 home runs and 53 RBIs. As a 2006 senior, she led the Cougars with a .408 batting average, 15 doubles, 4 home runs and 35 RBIs.
Her finest single-game outing came in the final game of her 2005 junior season when she went 3-for-3 against No. 6-ranked Point Loma Nazarene with 2 home runs, a double and a school-record 7 RBIs while leading Azusa Pacific to an 8-5 victory. She equaled that effort as a 2006 senior when she went 2-for-3 vs. Johnson & Wales with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs.
Mikesell came to Azusa Pacific in 2003 after a 2-year prep career at South Hills High in Covina, Calif. As a 2000 sophomore she was named All-Valle Vista League first team. However, she missed her entire 2002 senior season with a knee injury that continued to affect her well into her collegiate career.
Mikesell graduated from Azusa Pacific in May of 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in social science. She is currently working for Sweda, a marketing firm in Monrovia, Calif.
Mikesell is single and resides in Covina.
