Katie Lou Samuelson Is Eager To Return to the Court After Gaining New Perspective Through Coaching & Motherhood

Entering her sixth season in the WNBA, forward Katie Lou Samuelson signed with the Indiana Fever in early February, inking a 2-year protected veteran contract.

"I'm just really excited and happy to be back playing again in such a great situation," says Samuelson.

She highlights her positive meetings with General Manager Lin Dunn and Head Coach Christie Sides, as well as everything the Fever have to offer organizationally.

"Getting to go see what the Fever had in person and what Coach Sides and Lin are trying to do and build, I could really feel it being there in person... seeing the locker room, seeing the practice court, seeing all these resources that I haven't necessarily had as a player yet was something that was really important to me."

As has been seen throughout free agency in the league, having those resources is pivotal in drawing talent. It's gone from not just a bonus, but a necessity, something we have seen steadily rise and burst the bubble of this past year as multiple organizations have started to invest in infrastructural change.

Samuelson's daughter, Aliya, born this past August, has played the most significant part of how she approached free agency and life as a whole over this past year.

She hasn't been able to play a full 5x5 game since the 2022 WNBA season, sitting out last season with the Sparks due to her pregnancy, but was able to retake the court playing FIBA 3x3 for the United States during the winter.

"My whole perspective on training, basketball... everything, has just changed for the better. I've been able to play because I want to play and do something for her and be able to come back. All these things that used to bug me before, they just seem so small now. I feel like I know what hard is now compared to what I thought was before," says Samuelson smiling at the thought.

She takes her time on and off the court with a different appreciation now. Family time is that much more important and meaningful. Being able to get her work done on court efficiently is essential, a large part of what made Indiana's dedicated facilities so important in her decision to sign with the Fever.

"With her (Aliya), I kind of had to start from ground zero up again," says Samuelson

Samuelson has dealt with injuries that have required intensive rehab, but she's still been able to train through it. Taking on the mental side of returning to play after giving birth to Aliya was a new process for her.

"Like, I wasn't injured, so I was like why can't I feel the way I need to feel? So I've put in a lot of work to get to where I need to be, but I feel it's made me better as a player even, I'm more aware of what I need to do more specifically to feel good."

She was able to lean on close friend and former UConn teammate Napheesa Collier throughout her pregnancy and return to play. Collier gave birth to daughter Mila in May of 2022, making her way back to play the tail end of the summer during Sylvia Fowles' last year with the Minnesota Lynx and in the league itself before retiring.

"We both talked about how hard it really is to get back. Right away you don't feel like you want to feel, and you go through moments like, Am I ever going to feel the way I felt before? Those are just short small moments in there, and everyone's journey is different, but I feel better than I've felt in a long time," says Samuelson.

Simultaneously as Samuelson has been starting her family and working back to playing, she's started her coaching career. She joined her former assistant coach at UConn, Shea Ralph, at Vanderbilt as the Director of Player Development, and Vandy is in the midst of their best season under Ralph and the best season for the program in over a decade, eclipsing 20 wins for the first time since 2013.

"Having Coach Ralph be such a big part of who I was as a player, but now professionally as a coach, and as a mom as well. She has a daughter and I've seen her be able to be such a strong leader and role model and raise her daughter in the way that I want to raise Aliya. She's been nothing but supportive in helping me figure out how to do this and do I anything I want to do while having a kid," says Samuelson.

Coaching has given her a new perspective on patience and teaching, a whole different lens of understanding life and the game, much as Aliya's birth has.

Now a redefined player and person, Samuelson is eager to get back on the court and play the best basketball she has of her pro career. She clearly sees how the "puzzle pieces" fit on this budding Fever team, how she can stretch the floor for young frontcourt duo Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith, and how she can slot in defensively as a versatile wing.

She's played alongside Boston at USA Trials and camps, and has seen much from her that has her excited to be on the same side for the first time.

"She's a great player, she has been throughout college and all that, but I can see her becoming a leader and becoming more comfortable being able to say what she thinks out there and go off of that... I feel like it's going to be a big year for her again."

Samuelson has played along and supplemented greats in the league like Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, and Jewell Loyd. Now in Indiana, she's part of a team on the rise with a fresh frame of reference, a wealth of experience, and the skillset to help push this young core into the next stage of growth, much as she's gone through herself over the past year.