Growing up, McCallum alumnae Lily Parker knew she would become a professional soccer player. Graduating in 2020, Parker proceeded to play Division I soccer at three different schools over the span of six years. At first, Parker struggled to commit to a school that piqued her interest as a program as well as opportunity to grow as a player.  

“Recruiting took a lot of energy and effort,” Parker said. “I would constantly send emails begging coaches to come to games, I had a Hudl account where I would piece together my highlight clips, and I was always on the phone with different coaches.”

After making the McCallum varsity soccer team her freshman year, Parker leveled up in her Lonestar FC club team to ECNL, or Elite Clubs National League, a move that increased the number of coaches watching.

“My club team had a lot of talent so we had huge Power 5 schools coming out to watch us play consistently,” Parker said. “My teammates were committing left and right my sophomore year to Big 10 schools like Texas Tech, North Carolina and UCLA, so I immediately felt a lot of pressure because this team opened up a world of possibility for me.” 

Parker’s mom, Mary Parker, remembered the recruiting era of her daughter’s life being nothing short of stressful after seeing just how much the whole process weighed on Lily, especially since she was called up to the ECNL team late and had to work for her spot on the field. 

“There were a lot of ups and downs when she wasn’t playing her best,” Mary said. “Her teammates were being called by these Big 10 teams and it was just hard for Lily because it always felt as if she were coming from behind.” 

Throughout middle school, before Parker started her recruitment process, she had immense drive. Lori Saucedo, Parker’s middle school soccer coach, said Parker was one player that always stuck out to her. 

“Lily was always an excellent player,” Saucedo said.

At the end of her junior year, Parker committed to play Division I soccer at Kansas State University. As one of the last girls on her team to commit, Parker was happy with her decision and was able to reach her goal of attending a Power 5, D1 school.

“Kansas State saw me at a showcase one day and even flew to Austin to watch me practice and they ended up offering me a spot after that,” Parker said. “I verbally committed the next day.”

Even though Parker was happy with her decision to attend K-State, she went through unforeseen injuries and hurdles. 

“I had a really unlucky freshman year,” Parker said. “A few of my roommates and teammates got COVID so I had to quarantine. I also dislocated my shoulder for the second time because of this, I sat out all of the spring season and lost all of my fitness then was benched my sophomore year.” 

Seeing Lily’s spark slowly die was one thing Mary was not prepared for after seeing her daughter off to college. 

“It is really disheartening as a parent to see your daughter struggle as much as Lily did,” Mary said. “It was a really bad time; there were no dorms, it was extremely stressful, and Lily had to be quarantined two different times. She lost 30 days on the pitch and was immediately at the bottom of the roster. Then of course she dislocated her shoulder.”

Fast forward to the end of her sophomore year, Parker entered the transfer portal, and multiple schools reached out. Her top three schools were University of North Texas, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Southeastern. Parker eventually went with UNT. 

“This [decision to attend UNT] ended up being really bad for me,” Parker said. “I got cut from North Texas out of nowhere after being there for a year and a half and I had to enter the transfer portal again.” 

When talking about Parker’s initial desire to transfer out of UNT, Parker and her parents had to set some expectations when re-entering the transfer portal. 

“We just had to listen, be realistic, and read out these teams to see if it was all really worth the sacrifice of going through yet another transfer,” Mary said. “I mean it was all expensive and it was very draining and difficult for all of us.”

The possibility of Parker transferring out of UNT quickly turned into a legal battle. After the NCAA revised its transfer rules, Lily became ineligible for another transfer, forcing the Parker family to involve lawyers to secure a waiver. Eventually, Lily was able to attain a waiver and transfer from UNT to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

When Parker first transferred out of Kansas, she met coach Chris McBride. Unfortunately, Parker chose UNT over Southeastern, where McBride coached, due to the location. Parker was then stuck with the coaching staff at Denton, who did not enable her to play her best, according to her mom.

“After Chris left Denton, Lily just hated it,” Mary said. “Chris reached out to her and said Louisiana would be a better fit so back in the transfer portal we went.” 

McBride, the current coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is what Parker said changed her college soccer experience for the better. Shortly after Parker chose UNT over Southeastern, McBride left Southeastern and joined the coaching staff at the U of L in Lafayette. When Parker reached out to McBride, the transfer request was already in for Parker to attend Lafayette.

“He [McBride] is the reason I am the person I am today,” Parker said. “He gave me a second chance and has developed me so much as a person and an athlete, and I see him as a father.” 

Fast forward to today, Parker is currently a senior at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and has been the starting outside back for 18 out of 20 games for the Ragin’ Cajuns. Even though the process has been grueling for Mary Parker, she is proud of the success her daughter has found.

“I am thrilled that it has ended on such a positive note looking back at all the negative stuff. I know we have done everything we could do to get her to where she is today,” she said. “I am mostly just proud of her perseverance. She has the best attitude and she is a good person and no matter how many obstacles are thrown at her nothing will change that.” 

Heading into the spring Lily is set to graduate with her master’s degree, and currently has an agent who is helping her sign to a professional women’s soccer team.

“I just have a different type of love for the sport,” Parker said.

Saucedo remains unsurprised that Lily plans to go pro, due to her experiences coaching Lily throughout middle school. 

“In middle school she was a star. I was just so proud because she was one of my favorite students and soccer players,” Saucedo said. “I went to see her play when she was at McCallum, I went to see her play when she came to Austin to play UT while she was at K-State, and I can’t wait to see her play professionally.” 

Saying goodbye to college soccer will be bittersweet for Mary, seeing as though she has seen Lily since she was playing peewee soccer to now professional soccer. 

“She has senior night next week, so it has been really hard for me as a parent to see her leave,” Mary said. “I have seen her play since she was four so it’s hard to say goodbye to this chapter in her life, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t over the moon to see what she will do next.”

In all, Parker is greatful for all experiences as a collegant athlete, both positive and negative, and is hopeful for her future.

“I’m honestly so glad I went there [UNT] and I am glad for the experiences I had because I wouldn’t be the same person I am today without going through all of that,” Parker said. “At the end of the day, all of those experiences, those people, and those schools led me to the right place and for that I am grateful.”