Best Indiana Women’s Basketball Players Of The 2020s So Far: No. 6 Sydney Parrish

The best players of the 2020s so far is not a popularity list as several factors – statistical and otherwise – were used to determine the rankings.

In a popularity contest, the fight to be in the top five would likely be fierce, and it’s likely three-year Hoosier Sydney Parrish would be right in the fight.

Parrish was one of the most popular players from 2022-25 – and she was popular for the best of reasons.

She was, first and foremost, a productive player. In her final two seasons in particular, she was often the player who spoke to the media and public about how the team was doing. She was honest, too – highlighting positive aspects as well as things the Hoosiers needed to improve upon.

It didn’t hurt that Parrish “came home.” After spending her first two seasons at Oregon, the 2020 Indiana Miss Basketball at Hamilton Southeastern High School came back to help keep the Hoosiers in the fight for Big Ten championships and more.

So what kind of player did Indiana get? A player who could do a little bit of everything.

Parrish made 34.7% of her 3-pointers at Oregon, so she was considered a shooter before she played a game for Indiana.

She proved to be a shooter – and a lot more for the Hoosiers.

Parrish played a kind of hybrid shooting guard-small forward role for the Hoosiers. She also occasionally ran the offense when called upon – a trait she had in common with so many of her teammates.

Parrish improved her overall and 3-point shooting with the Hoosiers. She converted 44.7% from the field overall in her three seasons and 36.5% from 3-point range.

Where Parrish made significant improvements from her time at Oregon was in rebounding and assists. Parrish averaged 3.1 rebounds at Oregon, but improved that to 5.6 rebounds per game over her career with the Hoosiers. Similarly, Parrish’s assist average jumped from 0.9 to two assists per game.

Parrish was also an excellent defender. She had the numbers to show it – she averaged 1.3 steals at Indiana – but it was more about non-statistical stopping power and the will to give Indiana that edge.

Originally a kind of super sub for the Hoosiers, Parrish became a starter after Grace Berger injured her knee in a game in Las Vegas. Parrish started all but one of the remaining games she was eligible to play in until the end of her career.

Parrish doesn’t have that one moment that defines her career, but one statistical distinction demonstrates her importance.

Sports-reference.com assigns a game score to each game a player plays in based on statistical standards. Of Parrish’s 20 best career performances at Indiana, the Hoosiers won 19 of them. The only exception was Indiana’s near-miss loss to national champion South Carolina in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Parrish had eight 20-point-plus performances at Indiana, with a career-high of 24 points against North Carolina in her first Indiana season.

Parrish’s ability to do a little bit of everything is evidenced in her 10 career double-doubles with the Hoosiers.

No wonder Parrish was popular – she did a little bit of everything. That was born out in her rankings for the criteria used to determine the top 16. She was ranked sixth or seventh in every category tracked.

Whether Parrish plays professionally or not is uncertain, but she gave Indiana everything she had in her three seasons with the Hoosiers.

Previous women's basketball top 16 players of the 2020s

No. 7 - Sara Scalia
No. 8 - Aleksa Gulbe
No. 9 - Nicole Cardaño-Hillary
No. 10 - Brenna Wise
No. 11 - Shay Ciezki
No. 12 - Jaelynn Penn
No. 13 - Karoline Striplin
No. 14 - LIlly Meister
No. 15 - Kiandra Browne
No. 16 - Julianna LaMendola