Sydney Parrish’s transition to stardom at Indiana focus of NIL commercial

Indiana women’s basketball star Sydney Parrish knows well that life is all about transitions.

Coming out of Fishers, Indiana, in the Class of 2020, she was one of the top-10 basketball recruits in the country and a five-star prospect.

She signed with Oregon, where she appeared in 23 of 24 games for the Ducks as a freshman in the 2020-2021 season. As a sophomore, she played in 23 games, averaged six points and shot 36.7% from the field.

Yet, after the 2021-2022 season, Parrish transferred to Indiana. She’s now back in front of her home state fans and is having an immediate impact on the Hoosiers’ program. Through nine games, the 6-foot-2 guard averages 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds. She also had a career-high 24 points in an 87-63 victory over top-10 North Carolina last week.

It’s become clear Sydney Parrish has rebounded and made the transition to Indiana. That transition was perfectly captured in a newly released commercial with Owen County State Bank that was created through a NIL deal.

“You know you’re part of a community when people know your name,” Parrish says in the spot. “In my community, my teammates are more than the people on the court with me. They are my family, teachers, trainers, advisors and people who genuinely care about my success.

“Life is full of transitions. And you need a strong team to reach every new goal. No matter where my next transition takes me, I have learned it is the people who surround you that really make the difference.”

Sydney Parrish a NIL star

In the commercial, Parrish is shown interacting with people throughout local communities in central Indiana. She high-fives a girl who’s holding a basketball, playing in a pickup game on a local court, in a car with family and strolling down a street near homes and businesses before walking into an Owen County State Bank location.

The commercial first appeared before a recent Indiana men’s basketball game. Parrish is also featured prominently on Owen County State Bank’s website. She also shared a post promoting the ad with her more than 93,600 Instagram followers.

Yet, this is hardly the first NIL deal for Parrish.

Over the past year and a half, Parrish has executed more than a dozen deals, including for companies like Barstool Sports, Compete Training Foundation, Alba Botanica, Totes, and Champs Sports Women. Plus, when she was at Oregon she helped promote Division Street’s Airbnb house.

After arriving at Indiana, Parrish partnered with Hoosiers For Good, an Indiana-focused collective that helps student-athletes use their NIL to raise money for local charities. Parrish helps raise funds for Riley Children’s Foundation, which provides access to pediatric primary and specialty care across Indiana.

It makes sense for brands, especially those in Indiana, to partner with her. Along with her Instagram account, she has 192,600 followers on TikTok and has generated more than 7.8 million likes with her posts.

About the On3 NIL Valuation

Parrish does not currently have an On3 NIL Valuation, but when it’s calculated next week she will surely have one of the top values in women’s basketball and is a shoo-in for the On3 Women’s NIL 100 ranking.

The On3 NIL Valuation is a proprietary algorithm that calculates the projected annual value of high school and college athletes’ marketability in the NIL ecosystem. It includes a student-athlete’s brand value and roster value, which incorporate their respective value to third-party sponsorship opportunities and to their team. The latter factors in the influence of NIL collectives, which are organizations ranging from marketing agencies to nonprofit organizations that facilitate NIL deals.