The American Soccer Insight (ASI) Summit returned to Rice University in late January, bringing together industry leaders, researchers, and aspiring professionals across the nation for a conference focused on soccer analytics research. Hosted by Rice’s Department of Sport Management, the Summit featured industry speakers, networking opportunities, and student research presentations, designed to connect academic work with professional pathways in soccer.
One such student researcher was Lou Zhou ’27, who recently presented at the 2025 Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Conference. At the ASI Summit, Zhou showcased research on goalkeeper positioning, introducing a framework to quantify how effectively goalkeepers position themselves in threatening situations.
“A big part of this experience was communication,” Zhou said. “The ASI audience included both technical and non-technical professionals, so it was a unique challenge to make the presentation approachable for everyone, especially with only seven minutes to present several months of work.”
Behind the scenes, the success of the ASI Summit relied heavily on student leadership. Zefa Tullis-Thompson ’25 served as Event Operations Lead, overseeing all operations for the conference, including hotel coordination, catering, rentals, and managing event staff.
Reflecting on the event, Tullis-Thompson emphasized the Summit’s growth from its first year to its second.
“I was incredibly proud of the growth we had from year one to two, not only with our number of attendees and content, but with the overall execution,” Tullis-Thompson said. “As an operations person, having downtime during an event is a good thing, because it means you planned accordingly.”
This year, Tullis-Thompson also took on a mentorship role, bringing Stacy Lujan ’27 onto the organizing team as an Operations Associate Organizer. Lujan worked closely with Tullis-Thompson on logistics such as food orders, deliveries, parking, and venue setup.
“Collaborating with Zefa felt like a true partnership,” Lujan said. “Having served as a volunteer under her the year prior, I was honored that she and Professor Powers thought of me for the opportunity to join the team.”
For Lujan, the scale of the planning process was eye-opening.
“What surprised me most was the length and depth of the planning process,” Lujan said. “Being part of such a strong team of organizers was a really rewarding experience.”
Scott Powers, Assistant Professor of Sport Analytics and Statistics at Rice, has played a central role in shaping the ASI Summit since its inception in 2025. With experience spanning academia and professional sports organizations such as Major League Baseball clubs, Powers understands the importance of creating accessible platforms for students to showcase their work.
“I have a hunch that at some point, MLS and NWSL clubs will start hiring more analytics staff,” Powers said. “When they do, the ASI Summit will be a fertile recruiting ground for them. The students who present their work here will be among the most competitive candidates for those jobs.”
The Summit’s ability to bring together students, researchers, and industry professionals continues to distinguish ASI as a signature event within Rice Sport Management. Through student leadership, academic rigor, and intentional networking, the ASI Summit offers a model for how universities can create meaningful, accessible opportunities in a rapidly evolving field.
Sergio Rojas, a senior from Houston, is double majoring in Business with a concentration in Finance and Sport Management with a concentration in Leadership.