It can feel like foreign players are always representing their homeland when they play college sports in the U.S.

“I don’t know how much [British] basketball knows about me, but I’m proud of who I am and where I come from,” said Alex Gilat, a guard for the San Francisco State men’s basketball team.

“Whenever someone asks during a game ‘Where’s your accent from?’ I say the UK. So I am representing them in some shape or form.”

In recent decades, a growing percentage of college athletes in the United States have come from around the world. Based on the NCAA demographics database, between 2012 and 2023, there was a 88% increase in the number of international athletes among all collegiate sports across all three NCAA divisions.

U.S. colleges have seized on international recruiting opportunities via social media and online settings. They have utilized the domino effect of past university athletes from abroad who demonstrated what is possible. Universities have also organized national showcases and events for participants to perform and gain greater visibility and recognition, according to a study done by Frontiers, a scientific journal.

The U.S. Department of Education addressed the desire for greater diversity on campuses by updating admission decisions and policies to expand access to education.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated visa policies for nonimmigrant academic and vocational students, providing a smoother transition and clarity for those looking to come to the states for college.

The draw isn’t just about sports. The opportunity to pursue both athletics and an accredited degree simultaneously in college can carry special appeal for international student-athletes who sometimes must choose between the two back home.

The Sports Journal, a peer-reviewed academic publication by the United States Sport Academy, noted that American colleges and universities also draw more attention from international student-athletes because of the facilities being offered at each school, the bond that players build with their coaching staff, the competition level across all NCAA-affiliated sports and the exposure gained during games, serving as a launch pad for success as a professional athlete.

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Shay Wallach, associate director of inclusion at the NCAA. explained how unique the U.S. college structure is compared to most of the rest of the world, and that these life experiences, both academically and athletically, can provide vital assets toward an athlete’s success.

“The United States is truly the only place where the life of a college student-athlete takes this type of magnitude,” Wallach said. “In most outside countries, playing at the top professional level doesn’t mean big venues, big salaries or big exposure. Even though it’s at the collegiate level, it still offers a lot more than you can get back home.”

Some of this growing array of international athletes in U.S. schools carry the weight of expectations and dreams of families, friends and acquaintances back home. Some hope to become the "hometown hero" for people where they are from by finding athletic success in a bigger pond, and perhaps inspiring others to follow their lead.

There are over 25,000 international student-athletes, making up 5% of the entire NCAA student-athlete population across all three divisions, according to the NCAA. These athletes are foreign citizens who live in the U.S. on a visa for a limited time.

Wallach and the NCAA acknowledge the steady rise in international athletes looking to attend U.S. colleges. With many looking for help and accommodations, Wallach takes any feedback and provides support on how the NCAA can help prospective international student-athletes establish a “sense of belonging.”

“The one thing that is very common amongst all of them is the fact that they’re leaving everything that was ever known to them,” Wallach said. “At the NCAA, we continue to take in feedback from students, coaches and faculty to mitigate any sort of challenge regarding the transition for those moving to the U.S.”

Organizations such as the Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) have developed ways to help prospective athletes get their name out in hopes of sparking the interest of colleges during their recruitment process. For 20 years, NCSA has worked to develop an algorithmic-based system that sorts through each athlete’s profiles and determines which schools might be the best fit for them, both academically and athletically. These athlete profiles contain highlight tapes, transcripts, contact information and a personal statement.

NCSA also provides a recruitment assessment to build a deeper connection with the athletes trying to understand where they can improve and how they can fully maximize their potential. From there, NCSA publishes each athlete's profile for coaches to search.

Luis Cortell, recruiting coach for NCSA, explained how setting up a system like this brought challenges regarding how to correctly justify which schools would be best for that athlete.

“At the beginning, NCSA had a general idea of what the good schools were athletically, but struggled with processing where every other school fell into,” Cortell said. “So, they took into account the wins and loses of each school and then looked into the quality of each student-athlete they recruited in order to come up with an approximation of how competitive that school is athletically.”

Cortell discussed how international athletes tend to get looked over because of how competitive the recruiting pool is.

“For American colleges, who do they look to recruit first? The American kids,” Cortell said. “Once the top talents from America are taken, that’s when recruiting international student-athletes [to] fill in those spots. It’s difficult for these kids because they have the talent and they’re just looking for a place to play, opening their eyes to any possible option for their career.”

Knowing that many of these international athletes are looking for better opportunities for themselves and their families, Cortell laid out the benefits of bringing in these international athletes to the states and the impact it’ll bring to the general student population.

Dr. Julie Rousseau, associate athletic director for diversity and inclusion at the University of Southern California, explained how the needs of students are what drives her line of work. Dr. Rousseau looks to create an environment catered to easing the transition to campus for international athletes knowing how the decision to move across the country causes a bit of uncertainty for them.

“We evolve by the needs that are being shared with us by our student-athletes,” Dr. Rousseau said. “They’re not from America, but they’re here now. So how do we create a space where they’re not just here, but thriving and really growing and developing amidst all of the differences and diversity that we have.”

Dr. Rousseau went on to say how the world is changing and that she is going to continue to provide opportunities for international student-athletes to meet other people who are like them or have similar needs so that they can help each other along their journeys.

“The way the world is working, it’s global. Nothing is just in America anymore,” Dr. Rousseau said. “When someone creates a space for you and says that this is for you, it means there’s some intentionality there.You cannot do this solo. If you do, then you’re doing this wrong.”

Here’s a look at other NCAA international student-athletes making a name for themselves at home while they play in the United States. (Video produced by Todd Takeuchi)