Karlie Anne Samuelson (born May 10, 1995) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional female basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). They are the only female professional sporting team of any discipline in the northern half of Australia. The t ...

of the Australian

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

. In college, Samuelson played for

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. Her sisters are Bonnie and

Katie Lou Samuelson Katie Lou Samuelson (born June 13, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the UConn Huskies. High school career Samu ...

Career

High School/College

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 ...

native, Samuelson is the second of three daughters of two former athletes, her father having played basketball in both

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

and England, where he met her mother, a former

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

player who reached the England national team. During her high school years, Samuelson played at Huntington Beach's Edison and Mater Dei High School, in Santa Ana before heading off to play in college at

alongside older sister Bonnie. Samuelson played from 2013 to 2017, while also graduating in human biology. Samuelson, who excelled as a three-point shooter, qualified twice for the NCAA final Four, in her freshman year of 2013, and later as a senior in 2017, where she had been a Regional All-Tournament Team before losing the semifinal with a sprained ankle.

Professional career

She went undrafted in the

2017 WNBA draft The 2017 WNBA draft was the league's draft for the 2017 WNBA season. On March 30, the WNBA announced that the draft would take place on April 13 in New York at Samsung 837. Draft lottery The lottery selection to determine the order of the top fo ...

, and joined the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

for the 2017 season and played 3 pre-season games, but a fractured left foot suffered during training camp made the team waive her. Samuelson then joined Pallacanestro Vigarano in Italy's Serie A1 for her first professional season. Samuelson left in January, having played 13 games for Vigarano, alleging personal reasons. Afterwards, she became an assistant coach for the

Vanguard Lions Vanguard University of Southern California is a private Christian university in Costa Mesa, California. It was the first four-year college in Orange County. The university offers over 39 undergraduate degrees and emphases in 15 different depart ...

, while pursuing a master's degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from

Concordia University Irvine Concordia University Irvine is a private Lutheran university in Irvine, California, United States. It was established in 1976 to provide a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod college to serve the Pacific Southwest and provide training for pastors, ...

, and also re-signed with the

for the 2018 WNBA season where she made the final roster. Samuelson made her WNBA debut on the 20th of May against the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

scoring 3 points in 13 minutes of playing time, and ultimately appeared in 20 games of the 2018 season and 2 playoff games, averaging 4.2 minutes per game. While Samuelson left after four games due to the return of starter

Jantel Lavender Jantel Lavender (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft by the Los Ang ...

, the Sparks eventually brought her back for the rest of the season in June. Following the Sparks' elimination in the playoffs, Samuelson signed to play in

BC Castors Braine BC Castors Braine (English: Basketball Club Braine Beavers) is a basketball club, with both men's and women's sections, based in the municipality of Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium. The women's team plays in the National First Division and won the title ...

of Belgium during the offseason. In Belgium, she averaged 16 points per game in the

national league The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

, and 9.7 in the Euroleague. After being waived during the Sparks training camp, Samuelson joined them late in the

2019 WNBA season The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Seattle Storm were the defending champions. The regular season began on May 24, with the Atlanta Dream hosting the Dallas Wings and the New York ...

, following her performance in the

EuroBasket Women 2019 The 2019 EuroBasket Women, European Women Basketball Championship, commonly called EuroBasket Women 2019, was the 37th edition of the continental tournament in women's basketball, sanctioned by the FIBA Europe. The tournament was co-held in Latvia ...

. In August 2019, she joined the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group which is led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg ...

. Samuelson also signed to play in Spain for Perfumerías Avenida. In 2020, Samuelson was renewed by the Wings, which also signed younger sister

, but wound up waived before the season begun. Katie and Karlie still wound up playing together for Avenida by the end of the year. Karlie signed again with the Sparks in 2021. After being released in August, she rejoined Katie in the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

. In May 2022, the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

signed Samuelson to a hardship contract. The following month, she signed with Australian team

. Samuelson also appeared as herself in an episode of kids show ''

Ryan's Mystery Playdate ''Ryan's Mystery Playdate'' is an American live-action children's television series created and produced by the company PocketWatch, Inc. The series is based on the Ryan's World YouTube channel, which signed an advertising deal with PocketWatch ...

''.

International career

Like her sister Bonnie, Samuelson chose to play internationally for the

Great Britain women's national basketball team The Great Britain women's national basketball team represents Great Britain in international women's basketball. The current governing body for the Great Britain team was formed by the national basketball organisations of England (Basketball Engla ...

, using her mother's nationality. She debuted for the team in February 2018, playing two games in the EuroBasket Women 2019 qualification. In November, Samuelson helped the British team win the final two games, granting them a spot in

. During the European tournament, Samuelson averaged 11.1 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds as the British team finished in fourth place. She also played the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, missing the Olympic qualifying spot while averaging 10.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2 rebounds.

Statistics

College

Source

WNBA

Regular season

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Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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Playoffs

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Notes

External links

WNBA Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelson, Karlie 1995 births Living people British women's basketball players American women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Italy American people of English descent Basketball players from California Dallas Wings players Los Angeles Sparks players Sportspeople from Fullerton, California Stanford Cardinal women's basketball players Shooting guards