Ashani Samuels

Height:
6-4
Weight:
167
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
West Moreland, Jamaica
High School:
Mannings School

2014
Started in all 21 games for the Orange and Black…Anchored a back line that secured 10 shutouts to finish second in the league…Scored Mercer’s only goal in the 1-0 win over ETSU on Nov. 1 to secure the SoCon Championship…Tallied an assist against Wofford on Oct. 15…Named to the SoCon All-Conference First Team and the SoCon All-Tournament Team…Honored as a 2014 Capital One Academic All-America Second Team selection.

2013
Transitioned into the anchor of the Mercer defense due to his strength and athleticism…Appeared and started in 19 games as a junior…Amassed three points on one goal and one assist from his center back position…Had four shots, three of which found their way on goal…Scored his lone goal of the season on a header in a 2-1 overtime loss against Gardner-Webb (Sept. 18)…Assisted on the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win at Presbyterian (Sept. 28)…Was well-recognized for his play at the end of the campaign by being voted an A-Sun All-Conference first team member and named an NSCAA Scholar All-South Region Honorable Mention selection.

2012
Continues to develop into one of the most dominant center backs in the country defensively while showing improved ability on the offensive end of the pitch…Was a big part of a stingy Mercer defense that posted seven shutouts last season… Appeared and started in 19 games in 2012…Registered a career-best eight points on the strength of three goals and two assists…Amazingly, scored his three goals on just 12 total shots which equated to a team-best .250 shot percentage…Broke into the scoring column in a big way by scoring a pair of goals in Mercer’s 4-0 win over UNC-Asheville (Sept. 26) and was recognized for his performance by earning a spot on the CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week and being named the A-Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Week…Scored his third goal of the season in a 2-1 home win over Lipscomb (Oct. 4)…Piled on several awards after the season for his work on the field and in the classroom including selections to the Capital One Academic All-District IV first team, A-Sun All-Conference first team, A-Sun Conference All-Academic team and NSCAA All-South Region third team.

2011
Overwhelmed and intimidated opposing players with his size and length in stints as a wide player and center back…Appeared in 17 games, making 14 starts…Picked up four points on the strength of two goals…Amassed 16 shots, six of which ended up on goal…After starting the season slowly, had a coming out party by scoring a goal and registering a season-high five shots in the Bears 3-1 win over VMI (Sept. 16)…Scored the game-winning goal just 42 seconds into Mercer’s 2-0 win over Nebraska Omaha (Sept. 23)…Started in six of Mercer’s eight A-Sun Conference games…Started and played all 90 minutes in the Orange and Black’s 2-1 A-Sun Tournament semifinal loss to FGCU (Nov. 11)…Capped off his first collegiate season by being named to the A-Sun All-Freshman team and an All-Academic selection by the Atlantic Sun.

High School
Member of the Jamaican U-20 National Team…Starred for his Sandals Whitehouse club team that won the top division of the Major League Knockouts league and advanced all the way to the semi-finals of the Flow Champions Cup.

Personal
Son of Franklyn and Delrose Samuels…Born on March 20, 1992…Has two older brothers Mandefro and Jafarie and a twin brother Asani