Saginaw Valley State University Athletics will be releasing a series of student-athlete spotlights, which will feature some of our Cardinal senior student-athletes from the 2019-20 academic year. Stay tuned to www.svsucardinals.com to get to know our SVSU seniors a bit more.

Next up in our series is Men's Soccer student-athlete Wladimir Babaew. Babaew is a native of Moscow, Russia who played for the Cardinals the past two years after transferring from Northern Kentucky University. He played and started in 37 career matches at the defender position for SVSU. He was a key part of Saginaw Valley claiming the 2018 GLIAC Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. Babaew earned a pair of All-GLIAC accolades and was named All-Midwest Region his senior season.

Wladimir's favorite memory while competing for Saginaw Valley was when the team won the GLIAC championship in 2018 at Parkside. His favorite road trip was in 2018 when the team traveled to Kansas to compete in the NCAA Division II Round of 16.

Babaew graduated earlier this month with his degree in management and marketing and is currently working as an associate at AlphaSights in Hamburg. He continues to play soccer on the semi-pro level as well.

His favorite spot on campus is the Ryder Center and outside of athletics, he enjoyed working out and hanging out with his teammates. Prior to competing collegiately, Wladimir played for the U-17 Russian National Team.

Wladimir Babaew on his time as a student-athlete at Saginaw Valley State University

"I am very grateful for the past two years at SVSU that have probably been the best of my life. I want to thank the coaching staff and my teammates who supported me everyday. They made these last two years amazing and I have found friends for a lifetime. I also want to thank the business department, because with their help and high-quality education I was able to successfully start my career already. SVSU will always have a special place in my heart!"

SVSU Men's Soccer Head Coach Louis Barrow on Wladimir Babaew...

"Wlad has been a fantastic servant to SVSU Men's Soccer. He is a fantastic leader, both on and off the field with a fiercely competitive nature. He was a captain his senior year and set a perfect example to our younger players in terms of standards, commitment and bravery. Wlad is an absolutely stand-up young man with an amazing amount of potential."