Cal State Bakersfield School Spotlight: From Croatia to Cali for CSUB's Vili Sivec

Описание: Vili Sivec didn’t know exactly what he was looking for when he first started searching for a college. What was known was that Cal State Bakersfield had swimmers from Croatia—people who spoke the language, understood the background and could help imagine a new home across the ocean.

So Sivec reached out. “I just texted them, asked them how are things and if they think that it would be a good fit for me,” he said. Their responses painted a picture of a campus and a community that felt welcoming, grounded and supportive. That was enough for Sivec to take the next step to email the coaches. They replied quickly. Soon, conversations turned into plans, and those plans became a new beginning.

When Sivec arrived in Bakersfield, everything felt unfamiliar. “It was a big change at first,” he said. “It took me at least two or three months to get used to everything.” But he wasn’t alone. With time, the uncertainty faded, and Sivec found a rhythm—both in the classroom and in the pool.

The senior from Zaboc, Croatia, has not only found a rhythm, but created a symphony of success while competing for the Roadrunners. First garnering 100 and 200 butterfly individual medalist honors with the MPSF in 2023 and 2024, Sivec continued the winning ways in The Big West, going back-to-back for Big West event titles in both distances while doing so in record-setting fashion. This March 25-28, Sivec will dive in the pool at the Georgia Aquatic Center and the NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships, representing Cal State Bakersfield, The Big West and Croatia, pushing to keep improving stroke by stroke.