Coming off the heels of a successful senior season for women’s basketball, Parker Hill ’25 has signed a contract to play professional basketball for Team Hélios VS Basket in Vetroz, Switzerland.
In her final season as a Tiger, Hill not only played extremely efficient basketball — shooting 62.6 percent from the field — but also played a foundational role as a senior leader for the Princeton squad, starting all 29 games.
“I had always kept playing professionally as an option in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t sure until this past year that I wanted to continue playing post-Princeton,” Hill wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “I received encouragement from my mentors at home and was gifted opportunities that made me realize that the option was a real possibility, rather than a distant dream.”
In her senior season at Princeton, Hill impacted all aspects of play, averaging career highs of 7.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1 block a game, all while acting as a mentor to the young Tiger core. Over her four years, Hill was a part of three Ivy League championship teams and made four NCAA Tournament appearances.
To connect her to Hélios, Hill reached out to her former teammate Grace Stone ’23, who has played overseas for several teams, including the Perry Lakes Hawks in the Australian National Basketball League.
“Over my last year as a senior starter, I’ve developed the confidence and security in my game that will be necessary to start on the right foot in a professional league,” Hill wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Princeton taught me the mechanics for high level basketball that I will be transferring over.”
The signing comes at a time where more and more Princetonians are taking the leap to play professional basketball, with Hill bringing the number up to six for just this year. Most notably, Kaitlyn Chen ‘24 was drafted by the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA following her national championship victory with UConn. The former Tiger recently recorded her first professional points in a game against the Connecticut Suns.
In Vetroz, Switzerland, a small French-speaking town in the Alps, Hill will join a Hélios team that went 4–2 last season in the Swiss Basketball League (SBL), leading to a seventh place finish. Although the team is composed primarily of Swiss players, Hill will be joining fellow Americans Daylani Ballena, Caitlin Kobiske, Jazmyn Turner, and Brooke Kane.
Although European basketball follows many of the same rules as American basketball, the play style itself can be different. Nevertheless, Hill is confident in her ability to make an impact on the court.
“I actually think I will fit the European style of basketball quite well, and play style adapts without much friction,” she explained. “From my understanding, it is much more team-centric basketball, with more offensive motion and an emphasis on passing.”
“I’m comfortable being a facilitator and making the right pass, which will go a long way in the transition to European basketball,” she added.
Doug Schwartz is an associate Sports editor for the 'Prince'.
Please send any corrections to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.
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