Around 1 in 5 Harvard Varsity Athletes Hail From Outside the U.S.

About one in five of Harvard’s varsity athletes comes from outside the United States, according to a Crimson analysis of 2025-26 team rosters — revealing a sharp divide, with some teams drawing heavily from abroad while others remain almost entirely domestic.

The Crimson reviewed rosters for all 42 Division I teams and identified the hometowns of 946 student-athletes. Of those, 194 — about 20 percent — are international students representing 44 countries. Another 752 athletes — roughly 79 percent — are from the U.S.

International students make up a larger share of varsity athletes than of Harvard College overall, where about 15 percent of students are from outside the U.S.

Across continents, most athletes still come from North America, hailing from 43 states and Washington, D.C., though the distribution is highly concentrated. California leads with 134 athletes, followed by Massachusetts with 115 and New York with 68 — together accounting for more than one-third of the domestic total.

More broadly, 317 student-athletes – about 42 percent – come from the Northeast. New Jersey contributes 45 athletes, Pennsylvania 37, and Connecticut 33.

Six states do not appear in the data: Arkansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

Canada is the largest source of international athletes with 43 athletes, followed by the United Kingdom with 40. Australia contributes 15 athletes, and Germany eight.

But those international athletes are not spread evenly across teams. Men’s squash is the most international team, with eight of its 12 players — about 67 percent — coming from outside the U.S. Women’s field hockey follows, with 14 of 22 athletes from abroad, including seven from England. Men’s heavyweight rowing is also majority international, with 28 of 52 athletes hailing from outside the U.S., most commonly from the UK and Australia.

Beyond individual teams, certain programs account for an outsized share of international athletes. Across four men’s and women’s rowing teams, 60 of 161 athletes — about 37 percent — are international, representing roughly 31 percent of all international athletes at Harvard. More than half of Harvard’s athletes from the UK row, pointing to a well-established pipeline from British schools into collegiate rowing.

Other teams draw from more targeted international pipelines. The 28-player men’s ice hockey roster includes six international athletes — five from Canada and one from Finland — reflecting the program’s consistent recruiting ties to Canadian hockey.

At the same time, several teams remain entirely domestic. Men’s wrestling, men’s volleyball, women’s softball, and women’s volleyball have no international athletes at all.

At a more local level, certain places stand out. Greenwich, Conn., a town of about 63,000 residents, is home to nine Harvard athletes across eight different sports. London is the most represented city outside the U.S., with 13 athletes — trailing only New York City’s 17 overall.

Overall, women’s teams are nearly as international as men’s, with less than a two percentage point difference between them.

Harvard’s global recruiting footprint comes amid recent uncertainty for international students.

Last year, the Trump administration moved to revoke Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification and later issued a proclamation restricting foreign students from entering the U.S. on Harvard-sponsored visas. Though both actions were blocked in court, they created uncertainty for international students across the University.

“It was a challenge when we had some issues with international students, and what was going to happen with student visas,” men’s ice hockey head coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “But for us, we’re looking for the best kids all over the world to come in, and be a good fit for what we’re trying to do.”

—Staff writer Julia A. Karabolli can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Tanya J. Vidhun can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @tanyavidhun.