Emily Sams dribbles the ball against the Chicago Stars on March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
The Orlando Pride averaged 1.12 points per game in their first seven seasons as a National Women’s Soccer League franchise (2016-2022). They made the playoffs once and never won a postseason game. In January 2023, they selected center back Emily Sams (née Madril) with the third overall pick in the NWSL Draft.
Since Sams arrived, they are averaging a league-high 1.93 points per game. While correlation doesn’t equal causation, there is no question that Sams has been a central figure in one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent memory in any major sports league.
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Sams was well aware of Orlando’s history as she went through the draft process, and wanted to be picked by a team that had a better track record of success.
“I was trying to talk to my agents and see if there was something we could do, but Orlando said, ‘No, we’re drafting you and you are coming here,'” she said in a recent interview for the Summer 2025 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine. “So at first I thought, ‘All right, just gotta make the best of it.’ But now I’m so thankful. I feel I have also been placed here for a reason, so it’s just been incredible.”
Her impact was immediate. Sams started every regular-season game as a rookie and led the Pride in minutes played. Orlando narrowly missed out on the playoffs, but it was clear the team was headed in a positive direction under head coach Seb Hines, who was hired in November 2022.
Yet no one could have predicted what was coming next. The Pride opened the 2024 season with a 23-game unbeaten run, resulting in a 60-point campaign that included 18 wins — all NWSL records. They also collected the first two trophies in franchise history: the NWSL Shield as the team with the best regular-season record, and the NWSL Championship.
Sams won NWSL Defender of the Year and was an alternate on the U.S. team that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She officially made her U.S. women’s national team debut on Oct. 27, 2024, in a friendly against Iceland, and has earned three more caps since.
Orlando is off to another strong start this year, sitting in second place as the season approaches its halfway point. The strong bond between players has played an important role in the team’s success, and an active Bible study has helped build a strong foundation of faith in the locker room.
Sams is a regular participant in the Bible study, and teammates who have played for other teams have emphasized to her how special the present culture of faith in Orlando is.
“Everyone who has had previous experience [in the NWSL] is saying, ‘This is incredible. This is not very common. This is a sacred time and a sacred place,'” Sams said in the magazine feature. “So I definitely feel very blessed to be a part of this group. I would just say we’re all very committed to meeting.”
Sams grew up going to church and was involved in Bible studies while in college at Florida State, but does not feel like she truly took ownership of her faith until last year. The defining moment came during a team Bible study when they were reading an introduction to a book that discussed spiritual warfare.
“It talked about how our souls our being fought for,” Sams said. “I can’t remember the specific moment, but we were reading that, and for whatever reason it just clicked in my head, and I would say that is the moment I got saved. God just revealed Himself to me in a way that I had never experienced before.”
On New Year’s Eve, Sams reflected on her incredible year in an Instagram post. Her caption was the only way she could explain everything that happened: “Only by the grace of God.”
Orlando (8-3-1) is back in action against Racing Louisville (5-5-2) at 8 p.m. ET on Friday. Sams was also included on the U.S. women’s national team roster for its upcoming games against Ireland (June 26 and 29) and Canada (July 2).
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