Sam Bassett now has an accolade that his older brother Cole, a Colorado Rapids midfielder, can’t one-up him on: being an All American.
The University of Denver junior midfielder was named second-team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches on Friday for his performance over the course of the 2023 season. Bassett is only the third Pioneer to earn the distinction and is the first since 2018, when former Rapids player Andre Shinyashiki got the honor.
Bassett stepped up in the attacking midfield role this season as he helped lead the Pioneers to the second round of the men’s NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season. He scored a career-high eight goals and added seven assists to lead the team to a 12-3-5 record. Internally, the program was expected to be a national title contender, but injuries to three preseason watchlist players — Trevor Wright, Ben Smith and Ronan Wynne — played a key factor in not making a deep run.
Still, Bassett told The Post on Friday he was proud of the way he stepped up and led the side. Like Cole talked about this season at the podium, Sam was also determined to lead by example on the field.
“I think it’s really nice to start seeing that the work I’ve done over the past 15 years since I started playing soccer, it is starting to pay off. Also, it motivates me even more for next season because I know there’s more in me and I can prove I’m the best, and we can prove that our team is the best,” Bassett said.
For head coach Jamie Franks, who’s seen Bassett in action since he was 15 years old, the work he put in to get into position to be an elite college player speaks volumes about his development and where he can go.
“What I’m proud of is is where he was at 15 or 16 and he wasn’t happy with his development,” Franks told The Post. “So he had to work so hard on his diet, in the gym, on his shooting, on his passing. He’s just outworked everybody and put in the work every day. For somebody that’s that good of a person, it means everything to us. It sets an example. You wanna be an all-American, this is what it looks like.”
Bassett is “pretty positive” he’ll be back at DU next season instead of entering his name into the MLS SuperDraft because he believes the program is in its strongest spot since 2016, when the Pios reached the College Cup.
“I really don’t think we’re finished here. You only have so much time to finish what you started, and we’re aiming for a national title next season,” Bassett said.
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