{{Short description|American water polo player (born 1991)}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Josh Samuels | image = | caption = | fullname = Joshua Martin Kugler Samuels | nickname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|7|8|df=yes}} | birth_place = Newport Beach, California | death_date = | death_place = | sport = Water polo | coach = | club = New York Athletic Club | height = {{convert|193|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} | weight = {{convert|93|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}} {{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}} {{MedalGold|2015 Toronto|team}} }} '''Joshua Martin Kugler Samuels''' (born 8 July 1991) is a water polo player from the United States. He played for the United States men's national water polo team that won a gold medal in water polo at the 2015 Pan American Games, and competed for the team in the 2016 Summer Olympics, which finished in tenth place.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/joshua-samuels|title=Joshua SAMUELS - Olympic - United States of America|date=|publisher=olympic.org}}</ref>
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, he scored 176 career goals for the water polo team, 3rd all-time at the school.
==Personal life== Samuels was born in Newport Beach, California, lives in Villa Park, California, and is Jewish.<ref name="auto4">[https://web.archive.org/web/20150720054409/http://www.teamusa.org/usa-water-polo/athletes/Joshua-Samuels "Joshua Samuels; Water Polo,"] teamusa.org.</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishtampa.com/jews-in-the-news/jews-in-the-news-seth-rogen-sophie-von-haselberg-and-josh-samuels|title=Jews in the News: Seth Rogen, Sophie Von Haselberg and Josh Samuels | Tampa Jewish Federation|website=www.jewishtampa.com|date=August 8, 2016}}</ref> His parents are Elizabeth Kugler (who played softball for U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Davis) and Martin Samuels.<ref name="auto4"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jweekly.com/2016/08/05/half-the-jews-on-u-s-olympic-team-are-from-california/|title=Half the Jews on U.S. Olympic team are from California|first=Nate|last=Bloom|date=August 5, 2016}}</ref> 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).<ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://uclabruins.com/sports/mens-water-polo/roster/josh-samuels/964|title=Josh Samuels - Men's Water Polo|website=UCLA}}</ref> He now works as an associate for Orion Property Partners.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://orionpropertypartners.com/team_members/josh-samuels/|title=Josh Samuels |publisher=ORION|date=December 5, 2018}}</ref>
==Water polo career== ===High school=== Samuels attended Villa Park High School 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, and National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) All-America in 2006, 2007, and 2008, and 2008 All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II co-MVP.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2009/08/06/2008-boys-water-polo-player-of-the-year-josh-samuels/|title=2008 Boys Water Polo Player of the Year: Josh Samuels|date=August 6, 2009|work=The Orange County Register}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://scjewishsportshof.com/samuels-josh.html|title=JOSH SAMUELS; Water Polo - 2018|website=Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame}}</ref> 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).<ref name="auto3"/>
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).<ref name="auto3"/> In basketball, he also played two seasons for the school team.<ref name="auto3"/> In college at UCLA he scored 176 career goals for the water polo team, 3rd all-time at the school.
===College=== Samuels attended UCLA ('13), where he studied Political Science and played for the UCLA Bruins water polo team. He scored 176 career goals for the water polo team, 3rd all-time at the school.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/uclabruins/docs/mwp_16mg_full_guide/30|title=2016 UCLA Men's Water Polo Information Guide|website=}}</ref> 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 (MPSF) selection, and in his senior year in 2012 he was named a first-team All-MPSF selection.<ref name="auto3"/><ref name="auto"/> 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.<ref name="auto"/>
===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 gold medal at the 2008 Junior Pan-American Games.<ref name="auto3"/>
He played for the United States men's national water polo team 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).<ref name="auto4"/>
Samuels played for Team USA as a "driver" at the 2015 World Championships (where the team came in 7th), and in water polo at the 2015 Pan American Games (where the team won a gold medal).<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto2"/>
He was part of the American team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in water polo, which finished in tenth place.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/joshua-samuels|title=Joshua SAMUELS - Olympic - United States of America|date=|publisher=olympic.org}}</ref><ref name="auto4"/>
===International=== Samuels competed professionally in the Italian Series A League for SS Lazio, and in the Regional Water Polo League for VK Budva.<ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto2"/>
===Honors=== In 2018 Samuels was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.<ref name="auto1"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Sports links}}
{{United States men's water polo squad 2014 FINA World Cup}} {{United States men's water polo squad 2015 Pan American Games}} {{United States men's water polo squad 2015 World Aquatics Championships}} {{United States men's water polo squad 2016 Summer Olympics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Josh}} Category:American male water polo players Category:Living people Category:Jewish American sportspeople Category:1991 births Category:Sportspeople from Orange County, California Category:Expatriate water polo players Category:UCLA Bruins men's water polo players Category:Olympic water polo players for the United States Category:Water polo players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in water polo Category:Water polo players at the 2015 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Category:21st-century American Jews Category:American expatriate sportspeople in Italy Category:American expatriate sportspeople in Montenegro Category:People from Villa Park, California Category:21st-century American sportsmen