Karlie Anne Samuelson Bio
Karlie Anne Samuelson (born May 10, 1995) is an American-born, British-eligible professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. A shooting guard listed at 6 feet 0 inches and 159 pounds, Samuelson built her reputation as one of the most reliable three-point shooters of her generation during a standout career at Stanford University. She has played professionally in the WNBA and across top leagues in Europe and Australia, collecting multiple championships and a EuroCup Finals MVP trophy along the way.
Since going undrafted in the 2017 WNBA draft, Samuelson has suited up for several WNBA franchises while also starring overseas in Italy, Belgium, Spain, Australia, England, and Turkey. Born in Fullerton, California, she grew up in a deeply athletic household and is the sister of fellow professional basketball players Bonnie and Katie Lou Samuelson.
Early Life and Background
Karlie Anne Samuelson was born on May 10, 1995, in Fullerton, California, in the United States. She is the second of three daughters and grew up in Orange County in a family shaped by competitive sports. Her father played college basketball at Cal State Fullerton and later competed in England, where he met Karlie’s mother, a former netball player who had represented the England national team.
During her high school years, Samuelson attended Edison High School in Huntington Beach before transferring to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. The move to Mater Dei placed her on one of the most decorated girls’ basketball programs in the country and helped sharpen the perimeter game that would later define her career. She graduated from Mater Dei as one of the most highly regarded shooting guards in her recruiting class.
Path to Basketball
Samuelson followed her older sister Bonnie to Stanford University, where she played for the Cardinal from 2013 to 2017. While at Stanford, she pursued a human biology degree and earned a reputation as a pure shooter who could stretch defenses. She helped the program reach the NCAA Final Four as a freshman in 2013, and returned to the national semifinal as a senior in 2017, where a Regional All-Tournament Team selection was followed by a semifinal loss in which she played through a sprained ankle.
Her perimeter efficiency at Stanford translated into All-Pac-12 honors in 2017. Although she went undrafted in that year’s WNBA draft, her college résumé and shooting profile made her a strong candidate for professional opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic. She immediately signed her first overseas contract and began the long journey of piecing together a professional career across multiple countries.
Karlie Anne Samuelson Career
Early Career (2017-2019)
Samuelson made her professional debut in Italy’s Serie A1 with Pallacanestro Vigarano during the 2017-18 season, appearing in 13 games before leaving the team in January 2018 for personal reasons. She returned to the United States and signed with the Los Angeles Sparks for the 2018 WNBA season, where she survived the final roster cut and made her league debut on May 20, 2018, against the Minnesota Lynx, scoring three points in 13 minutes. She appeared in 20 regular-season games and two playoff games that year, averaging 4.2 minutes per contest.
After her first WNBA campaign, Samuelson joined BC Castors Braine in Belgium, where she averaged 16 points per game in the Belgian National League and 9.7 points in the EuroLeague. The Belgian club won the 2018-19 Belgian National League championship, marking Samuelson’s first major professional title. In 2019, she split her WNBA time between the Dallas Wings and the Sparks, while also helping Great Britain qualify for EuroBasket Women 2019.
Spanish League Breakthrough (2019-2022)
Following her release from the Dallas Wings, Samuelson joined CB Avenida in Spain, where she was reunited with her younger sister Katie Lou. At Avenida, she won back-to-back Liga Femenina de Baloncesto titles in 2021 and 2022, as well as the Queen’s Cup in 2020 and 2022, establishing herself as one of the most dangerous perimeter shooters in the Spanish league. Her time in Salamanca coincided with her most decorated stretch of European basketball.
During the same window, she continued to chase WNBA opportunities. She signed with the Seattle Storm in 2021, was released from the Phoenix Mercury in 2022 after joining on a hardship contract, and earned a Queen’s Cup MVP along the way. Across the Avenida years, Samuelson refined the off-ball movement and quick-release shooting that made her a difficult cover for opposing defenses.
EuroCup Triumph and European Tour (2022-2025)
After leaving Spain, Samuelson signed with Australia’s Townsville Fire and helped the club capture the 2022-23 Women’s National Basketball League championship. She then moved to the London Lions for the 2023-24 EuroCup Women campaign, where she was named EuroCup Finals MVP after leading the Lions past Beşiktaş in the final, averaging 17.5 points and 3.5 rebounds across the two deciding games. The Lions also lifted the WBBL Trophy that same season.
Samuelson then moved to Turkey to play for CBK Mersin during the 2024-25 season. With Mersin, she reached the 2024-25 EuroLeague Women final, where the team fell to ZVVZ USK Praha, and she added a Turkish Cup title to her résumé in 2025. Across this stretch, her shooting remained the central pillar of her game, and her résumé grew to include championships in three different countries within a three-year span.
WNBA Return and Portland Fire Era (2024-Present)
Prior to the 2024 WNBA season, Samuelson signed with the Washington Mystics, her 18th professional contract and the first that covered a full season. She responded with a career-best 8.4 points per game across 29 contests and climbed to ninth on the WNBA’s all-time three-point percentage list at 39.7 percent. On April 14, 2025, the Minnesota Lynx acquired her from the Mystics on the day of the WNBA draft.
Samuelson played 16 games for the Lynx before a season-ending foot injury cut her campaign short, and she was traded to the Dallas Wings on August 3, 2025, before being waived. She most recently signed with the WNBA expansion franchise Portland Fire as a free agent, returning her to a roster where she is expected to reprise her role as a sharpshooting wing.
Notable Events and Milestones
Samuelson’s most celebrated moment came in 2024 when she was named EuroCup Finals MVP after leading the London Lions to the title. She has reached the WNBA’s top 10 in career three-point percentage, was twice named to the All-Pac-12 team, and has won championships in Italy, Belgium, Spain, Australia, England, and Turkey. Her career arc, built across more than a dozen professional contracts, has made her one of the most well-traveled American shooters of her draft class.
Karlie Anne Samuelson Career Wins
Karlie Anne Samuelson has compiled championships across nearly every league she has played in since turning professional in 2017. Her résumé includes the EuroCup Women title, two Spanish Liga Femenina de Baloncesto crowns, two Queen’s Cup titles, a Belgian National League title, a Women’s National Basketball League title in Australia, a WBBL Trophy in England, and a Turkish Cup. She has also collected individual honors such as EuroCup Finals MVP and All-Pac-12 recognition.
Major Series Highlights
Her biggest club triumph came in the 2023-24 EuroCup Women with the London Lions, where she earned Finals MVP honors. In Spain, she strung together Liga Femenina titles in 2021 and 2022 with CB Avenida, adding Queen’s Cup wins in 2020 and 2022. In Australia, she helped the Townsville Fire claim the 2022-23 WNBL championship, capping a run that also featured her first WNBA contract covering a full season in 2024.
Other Wins and Performances
Outside her headline trophies, Samuelson lifted the 2018-19 Belgian National League title with BC Castors Braine and the 2024-25 Turkish Cup with CBK Mersin. She has been a reliable secondary scorer in every league she has joined, providing floor spacing and veteran leadership to title-contending rosters in Europe, Australia, and the WNBA.
Karlie Anne Samuelson Family
Family Background and Basketball Lineage
Karlie Anne Samuelson comes from one of the most recognized basketball families in American women’s basketball. She is the second daughter of a father who played college basketball at Cal State Fullerton and later competed in England, and a mother who played netball for the England national team. Her two sisters, Bonnie Samuelson and Katie Lou Samuelson, are also professional basketball players, and the trio has occasionally shared the court at the club and national team levels.
Personal Life
Samuelson has used her dual American and British nationality to represent the Great Britain women’s national basketball team in international competition. She debuted for Great Britain in February 2018 and has continued to feature in European qualifiers and Olympic qualifying tournaments. Beyond her career, she has pursued graduate studies, earning a master’s degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University Irvine.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 WNBA season marked a year of transition for Karlie Anne Samuelson. After signing with the Washington Mystics and posting career highs in scoring, she was acquired by the Minnesota Lynx on the day of the WNBA draft in April 2025. Reuniting with her former Mystics coach Eric Thibault, now an assistant in Minnesota, she played 16 games and averaged 3.3 points and 1.1 assists across 14.3 minutes per contest before a foot injury ended her season. On August 3, 2025, she was traded to the Dallas Wings in a deal that sent DiJonai Carrington to Minnesota, and she was subsequently waived.
Overseas, Samuelson joined CBK Mersin in Turkey for the 2024-25 campaign, where she lifted the Turkish Cup and reached the EuroLeague Women final before falling to ZVVZ USK Praha. The season reaffirmed her status as a proven winner capable of contributing on both sides of the Atlantic.
Looking ahead, Samuelson remains a free agent following her WNBA departure. With championships in six countries and a Finals MVP trophy already on her shelf, she is well positioned to add another chapter in the WNBA or in Europe’s top leagues whenever her next opportunity arrives.