Luke Steward, 21, had a full-ride scholarship playing baseball at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but he didn’t get enough playing time and experienced vision problems in his first two years.
El Camino College Warriors assistant baseball coach Kyle Mora saw Steward’s potential and convinced him to play baseball at ECC and pitch for them. Mora met Steward in Kansas playing in a minor baseball league.
Steward said coming to ECC was a fresh start for him.
“Playing here has helped me with my confidence, the coaches have been there for me. I’m glad that I got an opportunity to play and do what I love,” Steward said.
Warriors coach Grant Palmer said recruiting out-of-state and international athletes is case by case, and when they get the opportunity to recruit, they take advantage of it.
“For us having two out-of-state, international players is a high number for us,” Palmer said.
The number of out-of-state and international athletes playing at community colleges have been growing over the past five years.
Experts say athletes choose the community college route because of the age gap and more opportunities. At community colleges, athletes usually are 18-22, while the age range at four-year universities is expanded to 18-25.
Next College Student Athlete College Recruiting coach Luis Cortell said the community college level benefits out-of-state and international athletes in many ways.
“At the four year universities, athletes go up against others who are older and are not prepared. Also it’s more expensive for international athletes as well and at the community college level it’s less expensive and athletes are in their age range,” Cortell said.
Several community colleges such as ECC, Cerritos, Long Beach, East Los Angeles, Orange Coast, Santa Rosa, Mount San Antonio and Riverside all have out-of-state and international athletes in their athletic programs.
At ECC, the number of international and out of state athletes have increased in several sports.
Steward is one those athletes, having gone on to play in the Rocky Mountain League, a Colorado-based minor baseball league in 2024. He also played pitcher for the Liberal Bee Jays, a team from Liberal, Kansas in 2024.
This season, he helped the Warriors achieve a (32-14) record and make the second round of the 3C2A SoCal Super Regionals. He pitched 84 innings, had 72 strikeouts, started in 15 games and had a (8-2) record.
Out-of-state and international players pay a different tuition than the average student.
For a non-California resident at ECC, the tuition is $391 per unit. Non-resident students taking 12 units per semester have to pay $9,384 in tuition and annual fees.
Non-resident students also pay for health and student representation fees, medical insurance, parking, and other costs.
These trends mirror what is happening in the professional leagues, which have seen increases over the years in international athletes on team rosters.
The National Basketball Association, National Football League, Major League Baseball, Women’s National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer have all seen increases in international players.
According to the NBA’s website, in the 2023-2024 season there were 125 international players from 40 different countries. Canada led with 26 players, the most in the league, and France came second with 14 players.
For the last six years, the MVP of the NBA has been an international player, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Canada, Nikola Jokic from Serbia, Joel Embiid from Cameroon, and Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece.
Men’s basketball
The Warriors men’s basketball team has seen an increase of 64% in out of state/international athletes over the last five years.
In the 2022-2023 season, there were four out-of-state or international athletes on the team which was the highest amount in the last five years.
Robert Uphoff, coach for the Warriors men’s basketball team, said he looks for very tall and athletic players who fit their playstyle.
“What I look for when I’m recruiting is players six [feet] six [inches] and above and if they’re willing to play in California. Also, if they are willing to pay, some athletes pay $15,000-$20,000 to come to El Camino,” Uphoff said.
Out-of-state and international athletes can still apply for the Free Application for Financial Aid and athletes who have a parent in the military can get grants.
One of the players Uphoff recruited is Yel Deng, 22, an international player from South Sudan who is 6-feet-9-inches tall and has been in the United States for a few years.
Deng said he thought he was good enough when he first came here to the US.
“It’s a huge difference playing in the United States, I thought my game was already there, but I had to keep working to get better,” Deng said.
Uphoff also said California community colleges don’t offer scholarships to athletes but some do have housing, whereas community colleges in Utah offer scholarships to athletes and have dorms.
California community colleges don’t offer scholarships because of the low cost of tuition, Uphoff said.
Santa Monica College interim men’s basketball coach Malik Bray said out-of-state and international players have an edge and want to work harder on and off the court to improve their skills.
This season for Santa Monica College, 13 out of 15 on the men’s basketball roster were out-of-state or international athletes.
“A lot of these guys don’t have the scenery we have in California and they appreciate the opportunity more. They have a different playstyle as well as West Coast basketball players,” Bray said.
Bray said their playstyle is more rough and physical, but that the way they take their time playing the game of basketball is fundamental.
Long Beach City College men’s basketball team saw a 25% increase in out-of-state and international athletes on its roster.
The Union had a scheduled phone interview on Wednesday, May 20, and didn’t get a call back, and also on Thursday, May 21, and did not get an answer from Long Beach City College men’s basketball coach Barry Barnes.
East Los Angeles College’s men’s basketball team saw a 30% increase in non-resident athletes in the past five years.
East LA’s men’s basketball was highlighted in a show on Netflix called “Last Chance U: Basketball,” which showed behind the scenes of their men’s basketball program.
The most out-of-state or international athletes on their roster was five, but in previous years they had only one.
Orange Coast College and Riverside City College have had the most out-of-state and international athletes for men’s basketball.
Riverside College saw a 70% increase in the past five years and Orange Coast had a 75% increase.
Orange Coast College is another community college that has housing for out-of-state and international athletes.
The cost for out-of-state and international athletes is $11,916 a year, not including an additional $14,031 for books, supplies, incidentals and medical insurance.
Riverside College also has housing and it’s $9,000 a year through the University of California, Riverside.
Women’s basketball
ECC’s women’s basketball team also gained an increase with out-of-state and international players over the last several years.
Of the women’s basketball programs reviewed, ECC’s women’s basketball saw the greatest increase in non-resident athletes in the past five years.
The team started five years ago with zero out-of-state or international players, and ever since they have had one or more, showing a 0.18% increase.
Steve Shaw, women’s basketball team coach at ECC said it can be difficult to recruit out-of-state and international players for the women’s team.
“Last season we had two out of state/international players, this season we had none. It’s a process that can be a factor as well but we would love to have them come,” Shaw said.
He said he would like them to come because international players are prepared at a young age and they are very fundamental with their footwork and playstyle.
International players start to play professionally at a younger age than US players.
In the 2025 WNBA draft, 10 international players were drafted and three were top 10 picks, according to the WNBA website.
Some women’s sports in community colleges haven’t had any out-of-state or international athletes.
Of the colleges The Union reviewed, there were two programs who haven’t had any out-of-state or international athletes for women’s basketball.
Long Beach City College and Cerritos College were the two programs that The Union reached out to through email and phone calls several times and didn’t get an interview.
On the other hand, East Los Angeles College and their women’s program had an increase in out-of-state and international athletes in the past five years.
They had an increase of 0.15% in their women’s basketball program with three athletes being the most in the past five years.
Santa Rosa College only had one out-of-state or international athlete in the past five years out of all of their women’s sports programs.
Santa Rosa is one of three community colleges The Union reviewed with housing.
The cost of housing for out-of-state and international athletes is $15,797, including placement fees, security deposit, and a hall for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
For in-state athletes, living in the resident halls with a roommate is about $1,020 per month, but a single room is $1,277 per month. A deluxe single with a private room and bath costs $1,597 per month.
Football
ECC’s football team had a 32% increase in out-of-state state and international athletes over the past five years.
In the 2018-2019 season, the team started with 14 out of 37 on the roster being either out-of-state or international students, compared to the 2023-2024 season with 23 out of 37 on the roster, according to the ECC Warriors website.
Warriors football coach Gifford Lindheim said when he recruits he looks for players who can help the team in many ways.
“I look for talent, and talent comes in all shapes and sizes. We’ve had players from all over play for us and moved on the Division 1 level and the professional level,” Lindheim said.
At Cerritos College, the football program has seen a significant decrease in these players since the 2018-2019 season. Their numbers of out-of-state and international athletes have decreased by 53% in the past five years.
Long Beach City College also saw a significant decrease with their out-of-state and international players over the last five years. The decrease was 44% in the last five years with their football program.
The most on their team in the 2019-2020 season was 10 and the lowest was four after the 2021-2022 season, which was impacted by COVID-19.
According to the NFL‘s website, 88 foreign players recorded a snap in the 2023 season. The NFL Heritage Program saw over 330 players, coaches, and owners represent over 70 countries in 2023.
ECC wide receiver Mark Baker, 19, is an out-of-state student from from Burien, Washington, who has had success at ECC.
Baker appeared in 11 games this season and finished with 195 yards and 20 receptions.
Baker said he never heard of ECC until he got a call from two of the coaches.
“I remember getting a call from coach Lindheim and offensive coordinator Tim Kaub, and they saw my highlights and wanted me to come to ECC. They gave me and my family a tour of the campus and I knew it was the right fit for me,” Baker said.
He had offers from Eastern Washington University , a Division 1 school, and Central Washington University, a Division 2 school.
Baker said his game has elevated since being at ECC and improved a lot.
“My game has matured, I’m faster than I was and I’ve got stronger. Also I put on some weight and gained ten pounds,” Baker said.
Men’s soccer
The Warriors men’s soccer team has benefited from out-of-state and international players, as the team won the National State Championship in 2023 with six non-resident athletes on the roster.
ECC soccer coach Michael Jacobson said he is always looking for good players to play for the college and who will fit its system.
“We are a nationally-ranked program and we had a lot of international players come to us, especially from Japan and Germany. This is what makes our country great. We give people opportunities to show their talent,” Jacobson said.
Women’s Soccer
Not only women’s basketball, but women’s soccer at community colleges has had gains in out-of-state and international athletes on its roster.
Cortell said soccer is one of the most international sports in the world.
“Soccer is huge and the game is global. I am a soccer recruit as well, and we find a lot of players and recruit them,” Cortell said.
ECC and Cerritos College saw a 0.05% increase in non-resident athletes in the past five years. Both teams had at least one out-of-state or international athlete in the 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 seasons.
Orange Coast College saw a big increase in the past five years with out-of-state and international athletes.
In the past five years they have seen a 25% increase with women’s soccer. Orange Coast has dorms for their athletes and has increases in men’s sports and women’s sports.
On the other hand, Santa Rosa College has seen a 10% decrease in the women’s soccer program with only one out-of-state or international athlete in the last five years.
Riverside College doesn’t have a women’s soccer program nor a men’s soccer program.
Cortell said athletes go to community colleges that they feel like they have an opportunity at.
“Athletes want to make a name for themselves, compared to four-year universities there are more athletes they have to compete with. At a community college they have a better chance,” Cortell said.
