The NCAA keeps a public base of data on international students. This article will break down the swimming & diving parameters, including the top countries of origin, the percentage in the sport, and growth trends over time.
Countries Of Origin
Listed below are the top 10 countries for D1 and D2 men and women for the 2021-22 season. The NCAA doesn’t provide data for D3. Unsurprisingly, many top countries of origin are geographically close to and/or diplomatically aligned with the U.S. The countries also typically have English as an official language or a high percentage of English speakers.
There are more international women in NCAA swimming than international men, consistent with more total roster spots in women’s swimming than in men’s.
Division 1 Men
| CANADA | 43 |
| POLAND | 25 |
| SPAIN | 24 |
| SWEDEN | 22 |
| ISRAEL | 21 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 21 |
| BRAZIL | 20 |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 19 |
| AUSTRALIA | 17 |
| MEXICO | 17 |
Division 1 Women
| CANADA | 132 |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 65 |
| MEXICO | 40 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 34 |
| ITALY | 32 |
| SPAIN | 31 |
| AUSTRALIA | 30 |
| GERMANY | 27 |
| SWEDEN | 24 |
| HUNGARY | 21 |
| POLAND | 21 |
Division 2 Men
| BRAZIL | 31 |
| GERMANY | 22 |
| SPAIN | 15 |
| CANADA | 14 |
| POLAND | 14 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 14 |
| ITALY | 12 |
| SWEDEN | 11 |
| EGYPT | 8 |
| BAHAMAS | 7 |
| CROATIA | 7 |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 7 |
Division 2 Women
| CANADA | 35 |
| GERMANY | 23 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 17 |
| BRAZIL | 16 |
| SPAIN | 14 |
| MEXICO | 10 |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 10 |
| SWEDEN | 9 |
| AUSTRALIA | 7 |
| HUNGARY | 7 |
| ISRAEL | 7 |
Percentage of Total Athletes
The table below shows the percentage of total athletes in each division and gender that are international. In Division 1, swimming & diving falls in the middle of the pack compared to other sports, while in Division 2 international swimmers are on the higher end percentage-wise. Tennis is the only sport in which a majority of athletes are international.
| Division and Gender | Percentage of International Athletes (2022) |
| Men’s Division 1 | 15% |
| Women’s Division 1 | 15% |
| Men’s Division 2 | 15% |
| Women’s Division 2 | 11% |
International Participation Over Time
The webpage also shows parameters in international student-athlete trends over time from 2017-2022. Apart from women’s division 1 swimming, the number of international swimmers did not significantly grow or shrink.
| 2017 International First-Years | 2022 International First-Years | % Change | |
| Men’s D1 | 99 | 95 | -3% |
| Women’s D1 | 157 | 175 | 11% |
| Men’s D2 | 72 | 72 | 0% |
| Women’s D2 | 67 | 69 | 3% |
International student policy in the U.S. has been a topic in political news this month. Several top universities advised their international students to return to the country before president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in case of new travel or immigration restrictions.
The D2 numbers are misleading. If you look at the sharp end of D2, the top teams have a lot of internationals, a lot more than 15%. U of Indianapolis this year has 28 of 54 men are internationals (51.8%) and 13 of 32 women (40.6%). The percentages for other D2 teams at the top are similar. And when you get to NCAAs, most of those teams are internationals. I don’t have anything against Internationals, but it does seem like top D2 schools are relying heavily on them.
It’s so funny to me that the “everybody gets a trophy now” crowd are always the ones complaining about foreign athletes “taking US swimmers spots.”
You wanted a meritocracy, here it is. Swim faster.
goomba fallacy
Damn you’re right i’m cooked
You cannot compare a 17/18 yr old who is looking to make a 4 yr commitment to a 21 year old international looking for 2 yr commitment and say it’s a simple matter of merit. Ideally there is room for both swimmers. But with roster caps that’s not the case. The benefit of foreign athletes raising the tide for everyone is moot if developing swimmers becomes irrelevant.
it only seems like the high profile internationals that are only competing for 2 years. Many internationals do the full 4 years.
This has only 2 data points- 2017 and 2022. Wasn’t that the post-Covid year? I could be wrong, but I would think the numbers were low in 2022 due to internationals going home and restricted travel. Can you show data about the trends since then?
A number of “International” student swimmers hold dual citizenship. They often compete in international meets representing countries other than the United States although they are citizens of the US as well as the country they represent. The rules on citizenship are very complicated and vary from country. For example for the US you are a natural born US citizen if born overseas of US citizen parents but you may also be eligible to be a citizen of the country you were born in. For example my father, a US citizen by birth, and who was a senior member of the US Foreign Service was also eligible to claim citizenship in both Great Britain and India!
isn’t there a Canadian team in the NCAA div.2, Simon Fraser University. That might skew the numbers a bit but interesting analysis nonetheless.
Correct. SFU does compete vs NCAA.
In other news Michael Bohl has taken a role in China
https://7news.com.au/sport/swimming/swimming-australia-disappointed-as-legendary-coach-michael-bohl-joins-chinese-swimming-c-17371470
Is there any way to get a list of athletes competing in the NCAA from a particular country?
Just reading the title of the article, my guess is “other countries” 🤣🤣