Second Family

The word “ family” has a simple definition for the Louisiana Tech women’s basketball team.

On its face, the concept is often chalked up as an easy cliche or go-to buzzword in most athletic circles, often admitted as such by the very coaches who offer them up as indications of success.

But when home is thousands of miles and thousands of dollars away, with an unfamiliar part of the world waiting on the other side, it feels real when you can say you’ve found it — cliche or not.

And for Lotte Sant, Silvia Nativi, and Anja Buckvic, it’s as real as you can get outside of truly being back home – whether it be from The Netherlands, Italy, or Serbia.

“We talk about it a lot in the locker room: love and respect,” Sant said. “We say ‘family is people you love, trust and respect,’ and I think that’s very reliable and that’s definitely something I was looking for.”

“I just wanted to find a family away from home, and I think I definitely found that over here.”

The Lady Techsters have three international players on the 202223 roster – the thirdstraight season with at least three players from outside the United States.

But it hasn’t always been this way for the storied program.

Before Brooke Stoehr took over as head coach in 2016, the Techsters had two players to ever come from outside the U.S.: Margaret Deciman ( Canada) and Jelena Vucinic (New Zealand).

The program first began playing in 1974.

That’s all changed in the seven years under Stoehr and her staff, as Tech has brought six international players into the mix. And that hasn’t been by happenstance.

“I think for us, the times have changed from the era of when I played and even before the Power Five was what it is today in terms of the money people put into those departments and the landscape of women’s basketball and college athletics has just changed,” Stoehr said. “You have to find ways to be able to get size, and we’ve been able to do that.”

Now, Sant (The Hague, The Netherlands), Nativi (Siena, Italy), and Buckvic ( Belgrade, Serbia) have planted roots in America as members of the Techsters, each uniquely thankful for their journey and the second family they've come to know.

Recruitment unknowns

Lotte Sant wasn’t even ready to pursue collegiate basketball.

But in the internet era, where everyone has a camera and social media spotlight to share information — and game film — across the globe, Sant’s recruitment to Tech is a uniquely 21stcentury story.

In 2018, Sant played in the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championships as a member of the Dutch National Team, unaware that an unknown fan was diligently filming her highlights.

Within days of the tournament ending, the man posted videos of her across social media, and it didn’t take long for schools in the U.S. to show interest.

Sant laughs to this day about how her initial recruiting process didn’t start by her own will.

“I never really made a statement that I was looking for a school, it just kind of happened,” Sant said. “ Louisiana Tech was one of them, and they really stayed in contact with me. There were some schools that reached out one time, you respond, and they never get back to you. But [Tech] kept in contact, and I really appreciated that.”

Scott Stoehr, Brooke’s husband, saw Sant’s film and made the first contact on behalf of Tech.

Lines of sources were cast, and the Techsters’ staff was impressed with Sant’s ability to shoot and viewed her as an intriguing prospect.

With direct messages and texts as the main line of communication between Sant and the Techsters, the dialogue would often lose momentum and become a game of phone tag, largely on Sant’s end.

“I was so unfamiliar with the process that, honestly, sometimes I wasn’t really good at responding and I look back at it and think, ‘that’s kind of bad,’” Sant said with a laugh. “ I was so unfamiliar with it. I knew you could go on a visit, but I didn’t know what that meant really.”

And she did just that, coming to the U.S. for the first time on her visit to Ruston.

But Silvia Nativi never got that chance.

Nativi was one of thousands of prospects that went through recruiting during the peak of the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Instead of the inperson campus walkthrough with coaches, Nativi received Facetime tours, as team personnel would put on a virtual stroll across campus with their front camera to try their best to show the Tech facilities.

Nativi said the challenges were a definite barrier in picking the right school for her, but it forced her to be more intentional in listening to what coaches had to say.

“ Honestly, I followed my instincts and feelings,” Nativi said. “Whenever I talked with these coaches, I don’t know, I had a feeling this school was right for me. Honestly, when I think about being at other schools, I can’t see it.”

“Honestly, I enjoy this life so much. I wouldn’t take another decision. When people ask me, ‘Would you rather have stayed in Italy?’ and I say, ‘No, absolutely not.’ I really enjoy this life.”

Anja Buckvic, a freshman from Serbia, had interactions with former Techsters assistant coach Bojan Jankovic as the main contact in her recruitment.

Buckvic formed an instant connection with Jankovic and felt the same as she got to meet Stoehr and other coaches.

Even when Jankovic left for Ole Miss, Buckvic stayed where her heart was.

It’s why she made the leap of faith to join the Techsters in Ruston – 5,753 miles, or an 11-hour plane ride, from home.

“I think they’re extremely courageous,” Stoehr said of the Techsters international players. “I’m not sure I could have done that at their ages to go over there and immerse yourself into a different culture and not really know anybody.”

Grateful for new experiences

For as foreign ( no pun intended) as the recruiting process was for the three international players, settling into life in the U.S. was its own hurdle.

The three went through mundane changes to entirely new approaches to school/ sports balance.

Some changes weren’t big hits as others at first.

“Back home, they already include taxes, over here they don’t do that,” Sant said. “ So, whenever I go to Walmart and something seems cheap and taxes get added I was like, ‘that’s new.’” Even driving cars to and from was a new experience for Sant, who commented that people in The Netherlands ride bikes far more often.

Sticking with the food- buying process, Buckvic had plenty of comments on American food/regular diets – a stark difference from what she grew up with in Serbia.

“ That’s one of the biggest differences,” Buckvic said of the food. “It’s so unhealthy. We’re used to soupy food, we have soup, stew.

“And here, everything is burgers, pizza, and stuff like that.”

For context, there are 232 McDonald’s in Louisiana — a state of 4.6 million people. The entire country of Serbia — with a population of 6.8 million — has 30 locations.

Beyond the burgers and prices, all three said they love America and have grown to love every charm in Ruston and surrounding communities.

Nativi particularly loves the school and sport life balance that college athletics and America offers.

Back home in Italy, Nativi would have had to pick whether to be a full-time athlete or pursue schooling — not both.

Nativi, now a sophomore for the Techsters, has embraced the opportunity and said it feels so much easier to have both avenues open.

“If you want to go study, you can’t do a sport, and if you want to play a sport you can’t study. You don’t have time; you can’t combine them. Here, you can do both and when I think about my future, this is the best part for me.”

But as much as the family nature of the locker room has set in for the three, homesickness sets in from time to time, and even still persists for Buckvic – not even a year into her time in Ruston.

“It’s hard, I’m still doing all of it,” Buckvic said of adjusting. “But I can say the first time when I came here the first thing I realized is that the people are so chill — everyone.”

After practice concluded and the Techsters retreated to the locker room to go about their day, Stoehr was taken aback with how much Americans take for granted as she told the stories of her three international players – reminded of how much they scafriced to make it to the Techsters and all the program has to offer.

“Sometimes we take for granted our facilities and the opportunity and the way they can have access to come here 24/7 and shoot and so they’re always in here. That’s something we take for granted.”

To help quell her homesickness, senior guard Keiunna Walker even invited Buckvic back home to Arkansas with her family to celebrate Christmas.

Acts like that show Buckvic and Nativi that when the Techsters say “family,” it’s not the recruiting pitchspeak or hollow.

It’s what keeps them tethered to Ruston, rather than feeling like some outsider.

“I’m pretty sure if that wasn’t the feeling, I wouldn’t stay here,” Nativi said of the family environment. “Being far from family is hard, so finding a second family here gives you so much more.”