Student-Athlete Feature: Sam De Luca - Samford University Athletics

By: Joey Mullins
Samford Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Athletes have all kinds of different reasons for starting to play their respective sport. For Sam De Luca, a forward on the Samford soccer team, she started at a young age and it was a desire to outdo her older sister, Anne Marie, that led her to the sport that would eventually bring her to Samford.

"I think I was four when I started playing and it was because I saw my older sister doing it," De Luca said. "And being the competitive person that I am, I was like, 'I need to do this and one-up her.' She ended up deciding this is not the sport for her, but I ended up loving it."

De Luca went on to play high school soccer at Episcopal Collegiate School. While in high school, she was named the 2023 Arkansas Preps Player of the Year. That season, she tallied 60 goals and 17 assists as a senior. In her junior season, she was the Arkansas Player of the Year, as she registered 42 goals and 15 assists in 16 games, earning All-Arkansas Preps first team honors. She also helped Episcopal Collegiate reach the 3A state championship game that season. While in high school, she earned multiple All-State and All-Conference honors.

In club soccer, she played for the ECNL North Texas regular-season undefeated champions and the undefeated USYS Arkansas state champions.

De Luca's athletic exploits were not limited to the soccer pitch. She was a two-time All-State and All-Conference member in tennis. She also played basketball and was a member of a conference championship team.

But soccer was the sport she had a true future in. She said she knew early on that she could play soccer at the collegiate level.

"I went into high school knowing that I wanted to play in college," De Luca said. "I started kind of looking at schools in the eighth grade. So, I was really young, but mainly because everyone told me Arkansas is really hard to get recruited out of. It's not a big soccer state, so I decided to get on it early and it was a pretty big goal of mine to become a D-1 college soccer player, no matter where."

De Luca was recruited by several schools, but eventually chose to attend Saint Louis University. She talked about the schools she looked at in the recruiting process.

"I was looking at Arkansas, and I looked at Auburn for a little bit," De Luca said. "I looked at Ole Miss and then, obviously, Saint Louis. Those were pretty much my top choices I was thinking about, but I ended up going with Saint Louis."

De Luca spent the 2023 season at Saint Louis. During that season, she saw action in eight games, logging 76 minutes. She netted two goals on just three shot attempts. She scored one goal each against Kansas City and SIU Edwardsville, tallying a season-high 15 minutes in each of those two contests.

After her freshman season, De Luca decided to transfer to continue her career. She talked about the factors that led her to Samford.

"I really missed the South," De Luca said. "Going from the South to the Midwest was a big culture shock for me. And then I loved the faith-based atmosphere, which was really something that I wanted to continue growing in and I felt like I wasn't really growing in that aspect at Saint Louis. I just love the South in general. The campus is gorgeous, and obviously, Coach's (Yelton) record and being in a winning culture is something that I really wanted to continue."

De Luca came to Samford after her freshman season at Saint Louis. She said she was welcomed with open arms by everyone at Samford.

"The girls made it really easy, the coaches made it really easy," De Luca said. "Everyone is just so welcoming here. The southern culture was really embodied here. So, coming in, I felt right at home. I made great friends early on and meaningful relationships early on, which was really great."

In her first season at Samford in 2024, De Luca played in 22 games, starting 10 contests. She tallied five goals and two assists on the season.

The 2025 season was a breakout year for De Luca. She led the Southern Conference with 15 goals and 34 points. Her 15 goals were just one short of the Samford record for a single season. She talked about what made the difference between her first and second seasons at Samford.

"I would say my confidence really boosted in the spring leading up to that fall," De Luca said. "The coaches and the players around me really helped me become more comfortable and it is a completely different style of play from high school to college. So, I just felt like it took me a little bit longer to adjust to that. And then, obviously, I did a lot of work during the summer and played in a summer league (Little Rock Rangers), which I think really helped with my confidence as well, just getting more reps and visualizing stuff."

De Luca also said that her faith has helped her develop more confidence.

"Also, I was becoming more comfortable in my faith," De Luca said. "I felt a lot of reliance before on my performance, and ever since I have become more comfortable with my faith, it's been more that I am not playing for anyone or anything, I'm just playing out of freedom. I felt like that helped a lot too."

Following the 2025 season, De Luca was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year. She was also named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player after leading the Bulldogs to the SoCon Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament bid.

"It felt kind of surreal," De Luca said of receiving those honors. "I was not expecting that to ever happen, especially my freshman year. Looking back, if someone told me that that was going to happen my junior year, I would have thought they were being silly or just making up something. I was just very grateful for that recognition. It was such a team effort, it doesn't just take one person to score a goal."

This season did not get off to the kind of start De Luca had hoped for as she had to miss several games early on with an injury. She talked about the experience of fighting her way back from the injury.

"It was hard being taken out, but it also gave me an opportunity to look at it in a different way and lead in a different way, which I was very grateful for," De Luca said. "But I felt like, overall, it wasn't that hard because of the amazing support around me with (Athletic Trainer) Anne (Gay), (Strength Coach Jonathan) Farris and now Nate, our PT for the team. All of those people really helped me with my transition, but also helped me through some hard times, being frustrated with how it happened."

This season, despite her injury, De Luca still leads the team in goals with seven and in points with 15. The team has posted a record of 11-2-5 overall and 8-0-2 in SoCon play, winning a share of the SoCon regular-season championship.

This week, the SoCon Tournament will begin with Samford as the No. 1 seed and hosting its games in the event. De Luca said the team is excited to host again this season.

"It makes a world of difference, playing at home, sleeping in your own bed, having your family and supporters come and cheer you on," De Luca said. "That's so much more helpful than travelling."

De Luca still has one more season left to play next season at Samford. She will, however, graduate with an Exercise Science degree in the spring. She talked about what she wants to do after her playing career is over.

"I'm thinking physical therapy," De Luca said of her career plans. "I also have a minor in strength and conditioning, so hopefully I'll have my certification to be a strength coach after the spring. But I've also thought about the sports science route as well. So, I've got some options."

De Luca talked about how she wants to be remembered by her teammates and coaches after she leaves Samford.

"Just as being a supporter and a leader," De Luca said. "And that I lead the right way and that I'm someone they can come to with any problem. I want to be a person of trust and hopefully someone that inspires others."

Gallery: (11-4-2026) Student-Athlete Feature: Sam De Luca

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Sam De Luca

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