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

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, 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 water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

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 represents the United States, United States of America internationally in men's water polo. They are the only squad outside of Europe to medal in the Water polo at the Summer Olympics, men's Olymp ...

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 b ...

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 (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, 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 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, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 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 of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

, California, lives in

Villa Park, California Villa Park is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. It was founded in 1962. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,812, making it the smallest city in Orange County. The city is la ...

, 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 ...

in Orange County. There, playing water polo, he was the 2008 ''Orange County Register'' Boys Water Polo Player of the Year, 2009 Century League 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 on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, 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 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 Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' 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 Big Ten 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 has added members as far east as Massachusetts. The conference participates at the NCAA Divisio ...

(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, ...

). 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 year ...

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 1 ...

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 Jews, American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distingui ...

References

External links

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