Miles From Home: Boise State's International Athletes

International student-athletes competing for Boise State University navigate significant time differences, cultural adjustments, and athletic demands after arriving on campus.

More than 30 international athletes currently compete across Boise State rosters, continuing a pipeline that expanded throughout the 1990s and 2000s after basketball pioneers like Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing helped establish foreign recruitment in the NCAA during the 1980s.

Julius Seifert, a redshirt senior men’s tennis player from Eppstein, Germany, described his experience in Boise as life-changing. “You know you’re playing for something bigger than yourself,” Seifert said.

Seifert arrived at Boise State in 2024 after transferring from Concordia University in Irvine, California. Before moving to the United States, he held a Universal Tennis Rating of 12.97 and reached No. 136 in the German Adult rankings.

Head coach Luke Shields recruited Seifert, drawing praise from the German player for genuinely wanting to win. Filip Soderqvist, a sophomore tennis player from Norrtalje, Sweden, also pointed to Shields’ vision during the recruitment process.

“I started talking to [Shields], we had some conversations over a couple of months,” Soderqvist said. “It felt like the right decision for me then to go [to Boise] with what he was telling me about BSU and his goals for the tennis program.”

Soderqvist earned Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors three times last year. He appeared in all 31 matches, serving as the only Bronco to do so.

Leaving home brings distinct challenges, particularly managing time differences. Soderqvist explained that he typically calls his family at night before going to sleep while they commute to work and school in Sweden.

With seven of the ten players on the tennis roster hailing from outside the United States, teammates provide a support system that eases the transition. Soderqvist referred to his peers as a second family.

Cross country runner Cornelius Kogo experiences similar camaraderie within his program. Kogo, who is from Eldoret, Kenya, transferred to Boise State following a stint at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, where he was a 2025 NJCAA Cross Country National Champion in the 8K and an 8K Region VI Champion.

“Being with the team is so enjoyable,” Kogo said. “It helps motivate you to be around your fellow athletes…It helps getting to know each other; getting to know people from different places and getting to know their views on different things.”

International competitors now comprise a substantial share of college rosters nationwide following decades of mainstream scouting development. Boise State’s arrivals continue to balance academic and athletic demands while integrating their backgrounds into campus life.