Katie Lou Samuelson (born June 13, 1997) 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 (appro ...

player basketball player for the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of ...

. Samuelson is also the director of player development for the

Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball The Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores have never won the regular season SEC championship, although they have won six SEC tour ...

program.

Early life

Samuelson played for the Mater Dei High School basketball team for three seasons. As a sophomore in 2012–13, she averaged 20.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and helped Mater Dei to a 30–2 record. The following season, Samuelson averaged 29.2 points and 9.4 rebounds. She was named the 2014 California Player of the Year and was a USA Today first-team All-American. As a senior, Samuelson averaged 24.9 points and 8.5 rebounds. She helped Mater Dei win their third consecutive

Trinity League The Trinity League is a high school athletic conference in Southern California, part of the CIF Southern Section. The League is regarded as one of the most competitive high school leagues in the United States. Most famous for football, the Trinity ...

championship and the 2015 state regional championship; the team finished 31–3. Following the 2014–15 season, Samuelson was named the national player of the year by Gatorade, USA Today, McDonald's, and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, won the Naismith Trophy, and made the consensus All-American first team. During her high school career, she set Mater Dei single-season records for points average (29.2), field goal percentage (62.0), free throw percentage (89.4), free throws made (178), free throws attempted (211), and three-pointers made (117).

College career

Samuelson was a freshman at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

in 2015–16. She played in 37 of the Huskies' 38 games, including 22 starts. She missed the national championship game due to an injury. During the season, Samuelson scored 11.0 points per game and led the team with 78 made three-pointers, which was the second-most ever by a Connecticut freshman. She scored a season-high 22 points against Robert Morris on March 19. Samuelson was named the 2016 national freshman of the year by ESPNw. She was also named to the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

all-freshman team and the AAC all-tournament team. In 2016–17, Samuelson started in all 37 of the Huskies' games. Her 20.2 points per game and 42.0 three-point field goal percentage both ranked second in the AAC. Her 119 made three-pointers that season was the second-highest in school history. On March 6, 2017, Samuelson scored a career-high 40 points against USF; she also set the NCAA single-game record for most three-pointers made without a miss, with 10. She was named the 2017 AAC co-player of the year and the AAC tournament most outstanding player. She was also selected as a first team All-American by the AP, WBCA, and USBWA, and made the AAC first team. On January 13, 2019, Samuelson surpassed the 2,000 career point mark in a win over

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. She became the tenth UConn player to achieve this milestone.

National team career

Samuelson was part of the United States under-17 team who won the 2013 FIBA Americas U-16 Championship and subsequent 2014 FIBA U-17 World Championship. Samuelson was part of the United States women's national 3x3 team that would compete in the inaugural Olympic tournament at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, but wound up off the team as she contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

just prior to the start of the games. Samuelson returned to the team in the 2023 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup.

Professional career

Chicago Sky (2019)

Samuelson was drafted 4th overall by the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. Th ...

in the 2019 WNBA draft, with whom she spent her rookie season. Across 20 games, she averaged 2.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists during 7.7 minutes per game.

Dallas Wings and Perfumerías Avenida (2020-2021)

Samuelson was traded to the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Wings compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team is owned by a group ...

for Azura Stevens on February 14, 2020, making Katie Lou and her sister Karlie teammates for the first time as professionals. However, Karlie was waived before the season began. The sisters still wound up playing together in Spain as Samuelson signed with Karlie's team Perfumerías Avenida. Samuelson helped Avenida win the Spanish championship and finish second in the continental

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

, being listed on the team of the tournament in both championships.

Seattle Storm (2021)

Samuelson was traded on February 10, 2021, to the

for the number one overall pick in the 2021 WNBA draft, who became Charli Collier. While with Seattle, Samuelson became a full-time starter for the first time in her career, having started 24 of the 27 games she played for them while averaging career highs of 7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. Katie's sister Karlie later joined the Storm and played three games with them in August and September 2021.

Los Angeles Sparks (2022)

Her tenure with the Storm ended on February 3, 2022, when she and the

2022 WNBA draft The 2022 WNBA Draft, the WNBA's draft for the 2022 WNBA season, was held on April 11, 2022, in New York City and aired live on WNBA on ESPN, ESPN in the United States and on The Sports Network, TSN1/4 in Canada at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, EDT ...

ninth pick were traded to the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles 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 of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

in exchange for Gabby Williams. Samuelson was a teammate with Williams for three years at UConn and both women were selected fourth overall by the Chicago Sky in consecutive years, Williams having been picked in 2018.

Indiana Fever (2024)

After not playing the 2023 season due to her pregnancy, Samuelson signed with the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...

prior to the 2024 WNBA season on February 1, 2024. On February 10, 2025, Samuelson was waived by the Fever and signed a mutual contract termination agreement with the team.

Phantom BC and second stint with Seattle Storm (2025–present)

On December 20, 2024, it was announced that Samuelson had signed with

Phantom BC Phantom Basketball Club, also known as Phantom BC, is an American three-on-three professional basketball team. They are a member of the Unrivaled (basketball), Unrivaled basketball league, and made their debut in January 2025. The teams are based i ...

(filling their wildcard spot) for the inaugural 2025 season of Unrivaled, the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league founded by

Napheesa Collier Napheesa Collier ( ; born September 23, 1996), nicknamed "Phee", is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Collier is also a founder of the Unrivaled (basketball le ...

and Breanna Stewart. On February 21, 2025, Samuelson signed with the Seattle Storm for a one-year deal, returning to the franchise after four years. On May 3, 2025, the Storm announced that Samuelson sustained a right ACL tear during practice on May 1.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

''Stats current through end of 2024 regular season'' , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 22 , , 4 , , 20.0 , , .417 , , .317 , , .733 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, style=, 27 , , 24 , , 21.0 , , .456 , , .351 , , .731 , , 3.5 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 1.1 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, style=, 32 , , 29 , , 29.5 , , .373 , , .352 , , .837 , , 3.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.1 , , 9.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", ''2023'' , colspan=13 style="text-align:center;", ''Did not play (maternity leave)'' , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 37 , , 15 , , 18.2 , , .349 , , .330 , , .960 , , 2.3 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.2, , 0.5 , , 4.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", ''2025'' , style="text-align:left;",

, colspan=12 style="text-align:center;", ''Did not play (injury)'' , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 5 years, 5 teams , 138 , , 72 , , 20.1 , , .389 , , .336 , , .822 , , 2.5 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.7 , , 5.9

Playoffs

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2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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, 1 , , 1 , , 35.0 , , .600 , , .667 , , 1.000 , , 5.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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College

, - , style="background:#ffcc00; text-align:left;", 2015–16* , style="text-align:left;",

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, 37 , , 22 , , 23.5 , , .493 , , .394 , , .837 , , 3.4 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.2 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 32.1 , , .486 , , .420 , , .840 , , 3.9 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 1.4 , , 20.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 29.7 , , .530 , , bgcolor=#cfecec, .475* , , .835 , , 4.5 , , 3.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 1.3 , , 17.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 33.1 , , .453 , , .376 , , .876 , , 6.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 1.6 , , 18.5 , - , colspan=2; align=center, Career , 140 , , 125 , , 29.6 , , .491 , , .416 , , .847 , , 4.5 , , 3.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 1.4 , , 16.8

Off the court

Personal life

Samuelson was born in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

. Her father Jon played basketball at

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

and professionally in Europe. Her mother Karen was a

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

player from England. Katie Lou has two older sisters who both played at Stanford: Bonnie, who after college decided to instead study

optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

; and Karlie, who has played in the WNBA and currently plays for the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

. She became engaged to fellow basketball player Devin Cannady on February 4, 2022; they got married on April 22, 2023. Samuelson revealed on February 10, 2023, via Instagram that she and Cannady were expecting a baby, and their daughter was born on August 4.

Philanthropy

In February 2024, Samuelson joined the WNBA Changemakers Collective and their collaboration with VOICEINSPORT (VIS) as a mentor, "aimed at keeping girls in sport and developing diverse leaders on the court and beyond the game."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelson, Katie Lou 1997 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Basketball players from Orange County, California Chicago Sky draft picks Chicago Sky players Dallas Wings players Indiana Fever players Los Angeles Sparks players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Seattle Storm players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Fullerton, California UConn Huskies women's basketball players Unrivaled basketball players Youth Olympic gold medalists for the United States 21st-century American sportswomen

Early life

College career

National team career

Professional career

Chicago Sky (2019)

Dallas Wings and Perfumerías Avenida (2020-2021)

Seattle Storm (2021)

Los Angeles Sparks (2022)

Indiana Fever (2024)

Phantom BC and second stint with Seattle Storm (2025–present)

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Off the court

Personal life

Philanthropy

See also

References

External links