By Jonah Broos, Cronkite PR Lab
For most freshmen, the transition into college is tumultuous. The college experience is one of new responsibilities, new experiences and new perspectives. New Sun Devils, whether they grew up across the street from campus or across the country, take time to adjust to the shift to their new lifestyle.
For international students, this process can be even more jarring. They’re tasked with adapting not only to a new lifestyle but also to a new culture, geography, and in many cases, a new language.
This academic year, more than 100 Sun Devil student-athletes are international students. It’s a staggering realization that these young people have managed to balance this transition with the demanding day-to-day schedule of a student-athlete.
It’s an understatement to note that these international Sun Devils have been incredibly successful in making the transition. This story will take a look at student-athletes from men's golf, women's tennis and women's swimming.
Men's Golf: José Luis Ballester
Just last year, Sun Devil golfer José Luis Ballester became the first Spaniard to win the U.S. Amateur. Former Sun Devil swimmer Léon Marchand set Olympic and world records in the 200 and 400-meter individual medley at the 2024 Paris Olympics, claiming four gold medals and a bronze medal for his native France. International Sun Devils are vital to the program. They come to Tempe to compete and stand out among the best amateur athletes in the world.
Matt Thurmond, head coach of Sun Devil Men’s Golf, has found talent from every corner of the globe since taking the reins in 2017. Thurmond says international perspectives have enriched his team culture, driving Sun Devil Golf to new heights.
“Political discourse, especially right now in our country, has created this idea that people who come from different backgrounds in some way only take from our culture,” explained Thurmond. “I have learned in my coaching that it's the complete opposite.”
“If you have a bunch of people who think, and do, and see the world through the same lens, you're just not going to reach your potential. It gets old and stale. The conversations are flat; the progress is stifled because nobody can add anything,” Thurmond noted. “I have just seen it be such an awesome benefit for us, to have all these different kinds of styles and perspectives added to the group.”
Thurmond has created a culture of positivity and selflessness that systematically integrates all freshmen and new transfers into the team, no matter where they come from. New Sun Devil golfers can lean on one another for support.
“I think the fact that we've done this every year for a long time makes so much of it just kind of systemic and cultural, more than me giving a list and saying, ‘Hey, let's make sure to do this, this, and this.’ The reality is, every player that's coming to this program has been through the same process. Frankly, they know much better than I do what it's like,” said Thurmond. “We have a tight team, a very close family environment, and everybody on our team knows how well they were treated and helped when they got here.”
Women's Tennis: Zlata Bartanusz
The first step, of course, is choosing Tempe. For tennis player Zlata Bartanusz, a two-time junior doubles titlist from Toulouse, France, the choice was instinctual.
“When I came to visit ASU, I just felt really comfortable here,” Bartanusz explained. “It started with a feeling. I felt really good. I really like the campus, the coaches, the team and the tennis program. Even if it's a team, there are a lot of individuals, so you can work on your tennis to become better.”
This feeling brought Bartanusz from across the Atlantic, leaving her Tennis Club de Balma and her native country, where she had become the 19th-ranked junior tennis player in the nation.
On the court, the transition meant adapting to new rules and a different style of play. “Here, the players fight for every point,” said Bartanusz. “In France, sometimes players will stop fighting and give up points. That doesn’t happen here, so that was different.”
Off the court, the cultural shift also has been notable.
“The first thing I noticed was how big everything is—the cars, the roads, the portions of food,” she laughed. “And the food itself is really different.”
Sun Devil Women’s Tennis Head Coach Jamea Jackson has been instrumental in Bartanusz’s acclimation to her new environment.
“She was always helping me when I was struggling with paperwork to come here,” noted Bartanusz. “Even when I arrived, she showed me everything.”
There are many resources outside of the locker room that aid new international student-athletes.
“They have a lot going on in their life,” explained Daniel Hoyle, Senior Director of the International Students and Scholars Center at Arizona State. “We want to make sure that the resources that we are giving to all international students are also reaching them because they're spending a lot of time with their studies, their teams, their coaches, things of that nature.”
A total of seven members of the Sun Devil Women’s Tennis team are international student-athletes, fostering a strong sense of global unity within the squad.
“My teammates helped me a lot,” Bartanusz explained. “They explained to me how everything works, and they've all been there where I am right now.”
Women's Swimming: Alexia Sotomayor
This kind of camaraderie is echoed across Sun Devil Athletics teams. A similar support system has been essential in helping swimmer Alexia Sotomayor of Peru adjust to life as a Sun Devil. The 2024 South American Champion is already thriving in her first year with Sun Devil Swim and Dive. For her, the decision to come to Tempe was as natural as her decision to pursue swimming.
“I started to swim very young. My mom was a swimmer too,” recalled Sotomayor. “At six months old, I got in the water for the first time in a mom-and-baby kind of class, and ever since then, I never got out of there. I was always in the water.”
These “mom-and-baby” classes quickly evolved to represent her nation at the highest amateur level.
“Around four or five years old,” Sotomayor explained, “I was already swimming for a small team and then started competing at home (Peru) and made the national team for the first time when I was twelve.”
“It was a life-changing experience, I would say,” proclaimed Sotomayor about the responsibility of competing on behalf of Peru. “It was the greatest honor for me to represent my country, and it's always been. It's what I want to keep doing with my sport.”
Upon her visit to campus, Sotomayor knew the choice was clear.
“When I visited Tempe, it just felt different,” she says. “There was something magical about ASU. The energy, the people, the culture— it was like I knew I was supposed to be here.”
Sotomayor has instantly felt a connection with the team’s culture. Coming from South America, she was used to a quieter, more individualistic swim environment. She was thrilled to experience the Sun Devil Swim and Dive tradition for the first time this fall.
“I never felt anything like ASU. I told Herbie (Behm, Head Coach of Sun Devil Swim and Dive) after our first intrasquad meet that I had never felt such a strong bond with a team,” Sotomayor recalls. “Everybody cheers for everybody. We’re smiling, jumping, racing hard, and picking each other up no matter what. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Much like Bartanusz, Sotomayor has felt encouraged by her coach's support. “Even if you don't have a good race, they're still there to back you up or cheer you up and go into the next one,” she says. “The coaches make it fun; all of that is just, I mean, it's completely different.”
“Classes are just fine,” she explained about how ASU faculty have been paramount in Sotomayor’s success in the classroom. “We get all the help with our academic advisors… my class schedule just works out perfectly with the swimming.”
This aligns perfectly with the goals of the International Students and Scholars Center.
“We also want to make sure that they have the resources they need,” expressed Hoyle. “We know their schedule is full between studies, practice, and other things that are going on as an international student-athlete.”
As a new citizen of Tempe, Sotomayor wishes to “make an impact,” similarly to the way she’s done in South America.
“I got elected for the World Aquatics Committee,” explained Sotomayor. “I'm representing… not only my country but it's also the whole continent of the Americas.”
The International Students and Scholars Center understands the responsibilities placed on elite international talent. Hoyle stated that part of their mission is “making sure that they can have the chance to be ambassadors for their sport, for their country, here at Arizona State University.”
For both of these young, renowned talents, the future is bright. They’re at a place they love and feel connected to, with the best support system in the country in their corner. Keep an eye on these three, along with the 100 other ASU international student-athletes, as they aim to leave their mark… from Tempe and on the world stage.