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Samantha Paradise - Women's Golf - University of Kentucky Athletics

SamanthaParadise

  • class Senior
  • Hometown Tampa, Fla.
  • High school Plant High School
  • Previous School Daytona State College
  • Major Marketing
BIO

Chip Shots

Favorite course: Pelican Golf Club
Dream foursome (including herself): Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Lydia Ko
First time she broke par: 17-years-old
Favorite club: 4-hybrid
Favorite golfer: Jordan Speith
Favorite food: Tacos
Favorite TV show: Yellowstone
Favorite book: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Favorite class: Psychology
Nickname(s): Sammy
Superstition(s): I have to have my Happy Gilmore ball marker

Career Stats Breakdown

Career Awards / Honors:
2024-25 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American First Team
2023-24 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American Second Team

2025-26 (Junior): Competed in the lineup once during the regular season, going 74, 81 and 74 for a 13-over-par 229 and a T34 finish at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational … Then, entered the lineup prior to the NCAA Tallahassee Regional and was instrumental in helping the team reach its first NCAA Championship since 2021 … At the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, in just her second lineup appearance of the season, she contributed two scores to the team total, including a 74 in the first round and a 74 in the final round, ultimately turning in a 13-over-par 229 for T45 in Carlsbad, California.

Before UK: Samantha Paradise, a Tampa, Florida, native, spent the previous two seasons at Daytona State College … She hit the ground running as a freshman in 2023-24, earning a 72.7 stroke average across 11 tournaments and 28 rounds en route to being named a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-America Second Team … Down the stretch of her freshman season in 2023-24, she earned three straight finishes inside the top 10, including going just 5-over for ninth place out of 86 competitors at the NJCAA National Championship … There, she helped the Falcons win the NJCAA National Championship on a 6-under team total at Duran Golf Club in Viera, Florida … Paradise concluded that season ranked fifth in the NJCAA rankings … Last season as a sophomore in Daytona Beach, she rallied a 73.6 stroke average over 10 tournaments and 29 rounds in 2024-25, this time earning All-America First Team … She collected three more finishes inside the top 10 for her college career, including finishing in an improved sixth place out of 96 student-athletes at the national championship … Paradise checked in at No. 2 in the NJCAA rankings at the end of 2024-25.

Personal: Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 14, 2005 … Daughter of Jennifer and Jim Paradise … Mother was a nationally prominent gymnast at an early age … Father played hockey at Colorado College and in the minor league … Twin sister Sydney plays tennis at Northern Illinois … Older sister Jordyn is a gymnast at Alabama … Brother Jimmy played golf at UConn and is now pursuing professional golf … Outside of golf, she enjoys spending time with family.

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