Prospect Spotlight: Super Sampson

Super Sampson, 22, CF/OF Sand Cats

To say James “Super” Sampson, son of Olympic silver medalist sprinter Jana Sampson and Olympic bronze speed skater Tim Sampson, was almost bred for professional sports is a bit of an understatement. In high school he shattered relay and pole vault records in his state of Florida, bringing the national spotlight to Niceville as a star in 4 sports: a wide receiver in football, striker in soccer, a center fielder in baseball, and (obviously) several events in track and field. While significantly more raw in baseball, his college recruitment was publicized far and wide as he ranked in the top 10 nationally for all of his other sports.After verbally committing to the Space Force Academy in Cape Canaveral with a promise of starting in football and soccer, he ultimately flipped to Blue Ridge University on Signing Day when they allowed him to pursue all four of his sports.

His impact was felt across each of them immediately. By the mid-point of football season, he led the nation in receiving yards and touchdowns as well as interceptions after he “picked up” the cornerback position in practice one day. He maintained the first two, but after having to miss two games due to “extreme exhaustion,” Coach Gomez limited him to just 3 defensive drives per game where he caught 3 more interceptions and returned 2 for touchdowns. Soccer was Sampson’s newest pickup, but he seemed a natural fit for the pitch. Wary teams immediately respected his speed, cutting him off before he could get into open space and face the goalkeeper one on one, however this left Junior Midfielder DeAndre Ender Jr, wide open for a quick pass and easy goals. Sampson finished 2nd in the league with 25 assists and 10th in goals scored (12). In Track and Field, Sampson broke 100m and 200m records in addition to 4x100 relay with senior Tay Bolter and baseball teammates Ryan Hernandez and Makani Rago.

Despite this success elsewhere, Sampson always claimed that baseball was his favorite sport as he claimed it challenged him the most, playing CF while also learning to be a closing pitcher. His large personality initially carried over well into this sport as Blue Ridge University set new school records for overall game attendance and average attendance over the course of his freshman year. Sampson’s power never really was too much of a problem for defenses, but that was not how he established himself. Sampson championed the “small-ball” approach, focusing on making contact with the ball via swing or bunt and then using his blazing speed to turn a single into a double or, as Arizona A&M witnessed twice in one game, a double into an inside-the-park home run.

One of his most notable highlights (and lowlights) is from a game against arch-rival Tennessee University Wolfpack. After ‘Pack LF Tigg Tantrum drew a walk, 2B Darnell Reeves smoked a line drive into the CF-RF gap just beyond the diving glove of Sampson. Waving off Stephanie Diaz the right fielder, he grabbed the ball at the warning track and hurled it to home plate where the catcher nonchalantly slid his glove two inches to the left to tag out a sliding Tantrum to end the 6th inning. The two could be seen bantering back and forth as they went to their respective dugouts. When Sampson strolled onto the bump to close out the game, he intentionally plunked Tantrum with a mid-90s fastball to the ribs. A frustrated Tantrum took exception, dropped his bat, and charged the mound. Both players got in a pair of decent punches before their managers pulled them apart. Tantrum walked away with two fractured ribs (likely from the beanball), and Sampson suffered a concussion from Tigg's massive right hook. Both players were subsequently suspended for the rest of the regular and postseason (15 games for each as neither team made the playoffs). After posting a video blasting BRU athletics and the NCBB Commission’s decision to suspend them (the now-infamous “lett boys be boys” video) to social media, Sampson was suspended from all National Collegiate Athletics-sanctioned organizations indefinitely. Sampson was later dismissed completely from Blue Ridge University for an alleged violation of academic integrity during a "take-home" final exam. Sampson later transferred to Tampa Bay University where he played club baseball and earned a degree in Microeconomics. Statistics from his time there were not made available.

When the Super Mega League announced they were expanding, Super Sampson immediately hired an agent to get a tryout with any team he could. At that point, concerns about his character on and off the field were raised once more, and initially no team brought him in for an interview. After discussions with CF Willy Bacon of the Platypi fell through, the Sand Cats contacted his agent and scheduled a tryout and signed him two days later with the explicit stipulation that any misconduct on or off-the-field will be in violation of his contract and that the Sand Cats would then be allowed to release him. As we’ve seen by now on his social media, Sampson signed the paper with a massive smile, stating that “Angels are gon’ be jealous.”

Based on the tryout, Sampson is still a very capable defender bordering on elite when you combine his still-blazing speed. While his power won’t scare pitchers, he’s got a quick bat and is not afraid to stretch plays into additional bases. Early batting practices show that he still has a ways to go when it comes to plate discipline. His time playing club baseball did not seem to diminish his talent, in fact magnifying his flair for the dramatic as he was seen “fancifying” his diving/sliding catches as well as catching a ball whilst doing a cartwheel based on his Instraframe and Fritter videos. He still has quite the following which for a new franchise can be a difference-maker and brought the Sand Cats social media presence to the forefront of the four new teams (and several of the established franchises).

One of the more interesting storylines to keep an eye on is his relationship with Tigg Tantrum. Considering their history from a few years ago and continued social media rivalry, they now join the same professional baseball team and may be competing for the same spot. As the Sand Cats drafted RF Marsha Brown in the expansion draft and signed CF Dolf Steak during the Free Agency period, Sand Cats Manger Monica “Mojave” Sanders has a decision to make in the outfield. As we've seen on several occasions, Steak is a viable option in left, however he "...much prefers [his] freedom," so depending on what she sees during these final pre-season practices, Sampson could be playing his native position or duking it out with his hated rival.