Davor Koret jumped on a plane in Zagreb, Croatia with a goal. He didn't have much of a plan though.
It was January of 2015 and Koret was heading back to San Jose without a school or a team. But he was determined to get both with the Spartans.
Koret first came to San Jose in 2013, when Bruce Watson, then the head coach of West Valley College, was recruiting him. A member of the Croatian youth national water polo team, a few of his former teammates had moved on to American universities to study and play. Koret decided he wanted to do the same.
"I was in touch with a few schools back then," Koret said. "I had met Bruce a year earlier and he always seemed very excited and it came across that he cared a lot. After a bunch of emails and Skype calls, I decided to go play for him."
After flying into the Bay Area for the first time on a weekend, Koret needed to get to the West Valley campus the following Monday morning.
"I knew English a little bit, but still there was this fear of saying something wrong or pronouncing something wrong. I was so quiet and I didn't want to ask the coaches for things," Koret explained. "I started to walk but I hadn't switched my cell phone over from the European SIM card, so my maps didn't work. I ended up at a dog park and I asked for directions, and this guy says West Valley is 10 miles away. That guy ended up giving me a ride. I was worried something bad might happen, but I'm still in touch with him. He's a friend now. I thought everyone was so kind in California."
Koret spent the 2013-14 school year at West Valley, playing water polo in the fall and swimming in the spring. He was a first team all-Northern California selection as a freshman after posting 70 goals and 80 assists. California Baptist took notice and offered him a scholarship, but he spent just one semester at CBU.
"I liked playing water polo there, my teammates were great," Koret recalled. "But I just didn't fit in at the school."
He packed up his room in Riverside and went back to Croatia for winter break. That's when Watson was named the new head coach at San Jose State.
"I reached out right away to Bruce, but he didn't have room on the roster for me," Koret said.
He didn't care. Koret knew he wanted to be back in the Bay Area and he wanted to play for Watson again. He jumped on that plane and came back to San Jose, without a team and without a school.
"I kept calling Bruce and (assistant coach) Gabor (Sarusi) and a couple weeks later they said they had a spot for me," Koret said. "But I needed to get my associate's degree to get into SJSU."
He enrolled at West Valley again and took 19 credit hours in the spring of 2015. He also worked nearly full-time on campus as a lifeguard and swim instructor to help pay for tuition and rent. He took another seven credit hours in the summer and earned his associate's degree just in time to enroll at SJSU.
"My parents told me I was crazy," Koret remembered. "They told me to just come home. But I'm stubborn and I didn't want to give up. I'm grateful they still supported my decision."
Koret had a roster spot lined up and was accepted into SJSU, but he wasn't sure how he was going to pay for school. That's when Watson called with more good news. Another incoming player had decided to go elsewhere, freeing up some scholarship money for Koret.
"I was so focused on getting into San Jose State," Koret said. "If I wasn't able to transfer there, I wasn't sure where I would have gone. It was a rollercoaster, but it all worked out for me."
Koret redshirted for the Spartans in 2015. He made his debut in 2016 and led the team in assists (28) and points (52).
"I would have loved a team full of him," Watson said. "Really smart player, hard worker, easy going, very friendly, appreciated everything we were able to provide for him here. I love him, such a great player and teammate."
The 2017 season presented Koret with another difficult decision. He lined up an internship with Google in the fall, but that would mean missing his senior season. It wasn't an easy call, but he went for it.
"Bruce supported me and he let me coach a little and help out with the team that year," Koret said. "That internship changed everything for me, it showed me what I wanted to pursue as a career. Bruce and Gabor always pushed us to take the initiative, don't wait for things to come to you. That has helped me a lot in my career so far. I have a ton of respect for those two guys."
Koret earned a degree in computer science from SJSU with a minor in mathematics. He turned that Google internship into his first job at IDAX Data Solutions, a company contracted by Google to support their mobile apps. Last year he took a position at Apex Systems. He's part of the software team working on a confidential Apple development.
Despite a busy work schedule, he's been able to stay involved in water polo, coaching with the San Jose Express club team as well as the boys team at Los Gatos High School.
"He's a grinder," Watson said. "He did well in school. He's made a great life for himself by coming to college in the States. He's loving life out here in California."
"I just went for it and did whatever was needed," Koret said. "It was hard, of course it was hard, to get out of my comfort zone in Croatia, but I decided to go with it and I'm super happy I did. It's been a great journey so far."
