Samantha Rios '26 Recruiting Profile

Growing up I wasn't much of an athlete, until 5th grade. In 5th grade I got into a boys flag football as a girl. It was different since I was a girl but what really made me happy is even though I'm a girl, my coach who is a male, treated me the same as all the other boys. Every drill we had or conditioning we had to do, I was there doing the same thing. After 5th grade, my mom and sister convinced me to do volleyball. At first I didn't really understand the concept of it, until tryouts I learned I was a natural to the simple things. At one point I started to struggle because there was some new things I had to learn. But I always liked a challenge growing up and I still do. Volleyball has been a getaway for me. It helps me think about solutions to problems, new skills to learn, and how to prepare myself for what's to come. I'm a good candidate because even if I'm off of the court and on the court, I was always trying to lift my teammates moods and helping them keep their head up even if mine wasn't. I wouldn't consider myself the same as my teammates because I was always cheerful and if I wasn't I was focused. Most people would get exhausted from drills or running suicides, but I knew that if another suicide was thrown at me I could handle it. I may not be the fastest but I have a lot of stamina. When it comes to academics, I was always on the accelerated portion. I'm book smart and I learn quickly and easily. If I had struggles I was never afraid to ask questions. To sum up, I will and always be determined to reach a higher level of anything whether its academics or athletics, I would be focused and convinced that I can reach that level.