New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics

Coach Orellana on Jester: "We are very excited to bring a player of Sam's caliber to NJIT, with his recent Gatorade Player of the Year and All-American honors. Sam's pedigree for success should translate to big things for the Highlanders. His technical skills and finishing ability should be big factors for us as we compete toward the Sun Belt conference championship."

Prior to NJIT: Jester, a graduate of Appoquinimink High School in Middletown, DE, earlier was named as Delaware's top male player for the 2014 season, earning the coveted Gatorade Player of the Year for the state by USA TODAY. ...he was also named Delaware Player of the Year for 2014 by the state's largest newspaper, The News Journal of Wilmington. ...further, Jester was one of 30 nationwide named as a midfielder All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA); the 5-foot-10 standout, scored 21 goals and recorded 10 assists as a senior and was selected to play in the High School All-American game in North Carolina. ...he led his team to the state Flight A Championship and a 15-0 regular season record before falling to eventual champion Salesianum in the Division I state semifinals.  Appoquinimink finished the 2014 season with a 16-1 mark. ...for his career, Jester had 75 goals and 43 assists and was a two-time Flight A Blue-Hen Conference Player of the Year. ...Jester, who intends to major in business at NJIT, earned D1AA Scholar-Athlete award recognition and was honored on the Blue- en Academic All-Conference High Honor Roll.

Personal: Samuel Jester. ... son of James and Veronica Jester. ... business major. ... born 4/1/97 in Newark, DE.