A San Diego native, Dan was a 3-year varsity starter for Fallbrook High School where he was a 2-time team MVP, 2-time 1st Team Avocado League, 1st Team All-North County and 1st Team All-CIF. He played his club volleyball for the original Shorebreak VBC out of Fallbrook, and his last season won a silver medal at the 2000 Junior Nationals with Surf City 18-1. Recruited heavily, Dan moved on to Long Beach State where he earned his degree in Speech Communication. As a player, Samuelson spent time in the middle, outside and opposite positions and helped the 49er's reach the final four his senior year.

Dan’s coaching experience is vast. Currently he is the Men's Head Volleyball coach at San Diego City College. Dan is in his 4th year at San Diego City, coaching them to their best 2 seasons in school history. At the high school level Dan was Catherdral High School's Head JV coach/Varsity Assistant as the Dons won the 2010 CIF Championship.  He was the head coach for the LBC’s 17-1 team, leading them to a 5th place Open finish. He also spent 2 years at Seaside VBC with the 17-2’s to keep his hand in coaching while pursuing a career in finance.  Dan has decided to pursue his passion of coaching and teaching and is now finishing up his Masters in Education at National University and substitute teaching.  When not coaching or teaching, Dan is cheering for his Padres and Chargers, surfing North County breaks and playing beach volleyball. This is Dan's 2nd season with Wave Volleyball.