Joshua Martin Kugler Samuels (born 8 July 1991) is a

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

player from the United States. He played for the

United States men's national water polo team The United States men's national water polo team is the representative for the United States of America in international men's water polo. The team is the only non-European squad to win medals in the men's Olympic water polo tournament, most re ...

that won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

water polo at the 2015 Pan American Games Water polo competitions at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto was held from July 7 to 15 at the Markham Pan Am Centre in Markham, Ontario, Markham. The water polo competitions was the first sporting event to be conducted at the games, beginnin ...

, and competed for the team in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, which finished in tenth place. In high school, he was the 2008 ''Orange County Register'' Boys Water Polo Player of the Year, 2009

Century League The Century Conference is a co-operative group of California high school athletic leagues that formerly made up the Century League. Its member schools now comprise the Crestview League and the North Hills League. It is part of the CIF Southern S ...

Male Athlete of the Year, Century League Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, and 2009 ''Orange County Register'' Male Athlete of the Year. In college at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, he scored 176 career goals for the water polo team, 3rd all-time at the school.

Personal life

Samuels was born in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

, California, lives in

Villa Park, California Villa Park is a city in Orange County, California, United States. It was founded in 1962. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,812, the lowest population for a city in Orange County. The city is largely zoned for single-family r ...

, and is Jewish."Joshua Samuels; Water Polo,"
teamusa.org. His parents are Elizabeth Kugler (who played softball for U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Davis) and Martin Samuels. He has an older brother, Albert (who competed for the Loyola Marymount men's water polo team), and older sister, Angela (who competed for the Loyola Marymount women's swimming team). He now works as an associate for Orion Property Partners.

Water polo career

High school

Samuels attended

Villa Park High School Villa Park High School (VPHS) is a four-year suburban public high school located in the city of Villa Park, California, United States. It was built in 1964 and is one of four comprehensive high schools in the Orange Unified School District. The cam ...

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. There, playing water polo, he was the 2008 ''Orange County Register'' Boys Water Polo Player of the Year, 2009

Male Athlete of the Year, Century League Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, 2009 ''Orange County Register'' Male Athlete of the Year, first-team All-County, first-team California-Hawaii

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

, and National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) All-America in 2006, 2007, and 2008, and 2008 All-

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a s ...

(CIF) Division II co-MVP. He was a two-year team captain, and ended his career as Villa Park's all-time leading scorer (408 career goals) and with the school record for career assists (541). On the school swimming team, Samuels was captain of the team for two years and was Century League MVP in 2008 and 2009, the 2009 CIF Division II 50 m freestyle champion, and NISCA All-American in the 50 and 100 freestyle in 2009, and set the school record in the 50 freestyle (20.71 seconds). In basketball, he also played two seasons for the school team. In college at

he scored 176 career goals for the water polo team, 3rd all-time at the school.

College

Samuels attended

('13), where he studied Political Science and played for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

water polo team. He scored 176 career goals for the water polo team, 3rd all-time at the school. In his sophomore year in 2010 he was named an honorable mention Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-American, in his junior year in 2011 he was named a first-team ACWPC All-American and a second-team All-

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I ...

(MPSF) selection, and in his senior year in 2012 he was named a first-team All-MPSF selection. His 2012 season total of 68 goals was the 8th-highest ever for the school, and that season he received the school's Jack Bariteau Most Inspirational Award.

National team

Samuels played for the U.S. Junior National Team from 2004-09 (Cadet, Youth, and Junior National Teams), was a three-year team captain, and helped the USA Men's Junior National Team win the

at the 2008 Junior Pan-American Games. He played for the

in the 2014 FINA World Cup, where the team came in 4th, the 2014 FINA World League Super Final (5th), the 2015 FINA Men's Water Polo World League Super Final (4th), and the 2016 FINA World League Super Final (

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

). Samuels played for Team USA as a "driver" at the 2015 World Championships (where the team came in 7th), and in

(where the team won a gold medal). He was part of the American team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in water polo, which finished in tenth place.

International

Samuels competed professionally in the Italian Series A League for SS Lazio, and in the

Regional Water Polo League The Regional Water Polo League (abbr. RWP), commonly known as the Regional League or Adriatic League, is a regional water polo league in Southeast Europe. Originally, the league featured clubs from Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. In later years ...

for

VK Budva VK Budva (full name: Vaterpolo klub Budva) is a professional water polo club based in Budva, Montenegro. As of 2021–22 season, it competes in the Montenegrin League and Regional League A1. Names It was formerly known as SD VK Mogren between 19 ...

Honors

In 2018 Samuels was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Josh American male water polo players Living people Jewish American sportspeople 1991 births Sportspeople from Newport Beach, California Sportspeople from Orange County, California UCLA Bruins men's water polo players Olympic water polo players of the United States Water polo players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in water polo Water polo players at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century American Jews