COLUMBIA, S.C. - Moments after their 76-68 win against Utah, Sydney Parrish and the Hoosiers walked off the court in celebration. As the team celebrated together in the locker room, they turned their heads to one person.
The Indiana Kid.
Parrish, with tears in her eyes, took the Indiana sticker and smacked it on the bracket board, solidifying the Hoosiers with a spot in the second round.
Her time as a Hoosier lives on.
The 23-year-old’s journey is coming to a close, but the ending remains undefined. For Parrish, the journey has seen countless highs and lows. She has made lifelong friends. She has won conference titles and struggled through tough blowouts. She has made life-changing decisions. It was a journey that spanned across the entire country. No matter what, it always comes back to one location: Indiana.
Parrish, a Fishers, Indiana native, established herself as a top high school player in the state at Hamilton Southeastern. She was Indiana Miss Basketball in 2020, was a top-10 recruit nationally, and had every accolade in the book. Her aspirations as a young girl took her to new heights.
“You have to dream big when you're younger,” Parrish said.
Those dreams led Parrish to Eugene, Oregon where she spent her first two years of college ball as an Oregon Duck. Across her two years, she carved out a larger role and became a difference maker. She started two games her freshman year and then all 32 her sophomore year, averaging nearly nine points per game on a powerhouse PAC-12 team. Despite the success, Parrish’s journey called for a new path; a path that led to Bloomington, Indiana.
“It's great that she found her way back to Indiana after she left and went out to the west coast,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “An Indiana kid coming back home was really important.”
The Indiana kid became a fan favorite.
Fast forward three years, and Parrish has gone down as a program changer. Her pride exudes through her effort, diving on the floor for loose balls, taking charges and knocking down clutch 3-pointers. As the crowd roars while her name is called in the starting lineups and Parrish jerseys and posters emerge throughout the crowd every game, it becomes evident: Parrish has given her all to Indiana and Indiana has returned the favor.
“It's everything a little girl from Indiana would dream of,” Parrish said. “This is just something that I've always dreamed of.”
Parrish’s dreams came true. From a young girl in Fishers to an Indiana basketball legend, she lived what so many Indiana natives hope to achieve. As she plays in her final NCAA Tournament, her time representing her home state hangs in the balance.
“I just never want to take that Indiana uniform off,” Parrish said.
Parrish will be wearing Indiana across her chest at least one more time, battling for her home state against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday. It’s a rematch of last year’s meeting in the Sweet Sixteen, where Parrish led the Hoosiers with 21 points. Her five 3-pointers kept Indiana in the game with the eventual national champions in the tight 79-75 loss.
As the undefined ending to the journey looms, one thing is for certain: Parrish will give her all to Indiana, and it will return the favor.
