Sydey Parrish
Sydney Parrish competes at the USA Basketball U17 national team trails, May 2018. *Photo by Chris Hansen.
Sydney Parrish of Fishers, Indiana, has been on the radar nationally dating back to her eighth grade year after her outstanding performance at the USA Basketball U17 national team trials that spring. In the years following she has been recruited as heavily as any player in her class. With a wealth of knowledge from a thorough recruiting process at hand, the 6-foot-1 sharpshooter verbally committed to Oregon today.
Parrish, who was the Gatorade State Player of the Year in Indiana this season, chose the Ducks over finalists Maryland and UCLA. The speculation early on was that Parrish would be a Maryland Terrapin based on her mom, Aimee, having a close relationship with head coach Brenda Frese, with whom she played club basketball with.
That bond notwithstanding, it was her visit to Oregon, which came just a few days after visiting UCLA, that changed everything for Parrish and the Ducks. After getting to Eugene later in the evening Sydney and her parents had an impromptu meet up with the Oregon staff at a restaurant and later the players showed up as well.
“It didn’t feel like any other visit,” Parrish said. “I didn’t feel like the coaches were trying to sell me on anything.”
Parrish also clicked with the current players and the trajectory of the program. The visit went so well according to Sydney, she caught her dad saying, “This is going to be a problem.”
The bond only got closer over time and with an in-home visit. Parrish even admits to tearing up with happy emotions as head coach Kelly Graves left their house. Fate continued on their side as the family was taking spring break in Florida when the Ducks made the Final Four in Tampa this season. And wouldn’t you know it, her parents surprised her with tickets.
While Parrish is the first player in the 2020 class to commit to the Ducks, she sees her signing class as one that will be a huge impact on maintaining the championship expectations.
“I think the (20)20 class is going to be really good when we all get there,” Parrish said.
And with her personality, it’s obvious she will become an active recruiter for the Ducks.
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Going into a program with lofty expectations is not intimidating for Parrish. She is complimentary of the platform the current players such as Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard have a established. For Parrish, being under the microscope has been constant since that trip to the U.S. Olympic Training Center for the national team trials all those years ago.
“My dad signed me up for it and I didn’t even know what it was,” Parrish said.
As Parrish began making cut after cut, including the final 32, eventually getting paired with Connecticut commit Christyn Williams for shooting partners, the light switch flipped that she belonged at this high level of the game.
Parrish hears the comparisons of her game, both positive and negative. It motivates her. She came into her junior season at Hamilton Southeastern High School thoroughly motivated.
“I had a rough sophomore year,” Parrish said. “I got injured a little bit. I scored more as a freshman.”
Those things all motivated her and now she wants to help carry her Indy Gym Rats EYBL program this spring and summer to new heights. The pressure is only making her more focused and now she adds proving she belongs as an Oregon Duck.
Chris Hansen is managing editor of ProspectsNation.com and serves on the McDonald’s All-American and Naismith Trophy selection committees. He was a co-founder of and the national director of scouting for ESPN HoopGurlz from 2005 until 2012 and is the director of the Check Me Out Showcase and ELITE is EARNEDevents. He can be reached at chris@prospectsnation.com.
