At times, the coverage of high school sports can be a bit shallow. You see a ranking, deem someone worthy of that ranking and then be excited when your team lands one of these top players.
Don’t get me wrong, you SHOULD be excited when your team lands that five star recruit, but let’s go beyond the ranking and find out more, this time with 2025 five star recruit and Oklahoma’s Gatorade Player of the Year Keeley Parks.
"Relief”. That was the word Parks used to describe how she is feeling now that her recruitment process is winding down, just one visit remains with Kansas.
September was about as packed as it gets for a recruit. The Parks family was traveling around the country, hosting home visits, and attending events like the Wootten Camp in Las Vegas, on what felt like more days than not over the course of the month.
It takes a toll on these major recruits, including missing out on major events in their lives.
“I’ve been gone every single weekend of September for visits.” said Parks. “It’s been a lot, but I’m also super thankful because a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do it. But I have missed out on Homecoming, football games, all that.”
There is a very difficult to balance for recruits on the verge of making a life changing decision. Parks and her family have been intentional in finding that balance.
“I think I’ve had a good schedule of calls and stuff because a lot of schools want to talk like right after the visit.” said Parks. “I kind of just take a moment and be like I can’t do it today and just more like reflect on the visit”.
One thing Keeley won’t miss out on however, is getting her nails done. Like never. Every three weeks to be exact. Usually pink and white, yet to be determined if we will see a shift in the color choice to team colors down the road.
The other thing that is always for certain for Keeley is you won’t catch any of her Norman High teammates on aux. That is all her.
Naturally, we had to find out what is on the playlist. Parks loves NBA Youngboy and the other artist admittedly caught me a big off guard.
Keeley: And I love Rod Wave, even though his music’s kind of chill.
Tyler: You get kinda sad listening to Rod Wave before the game, don’t you?
Keeley: No, no, no. I don’t think so. Every time I listen to Rod Wave, I play great.
Well future school, you know what you need to put in the pregame playlist.
Now that we have gotten to know Parks a bit better, let’s dive into those potential future schools.
Parks announced her six finalists: UCLA, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, UNC, and her home team Oklahoma.
When asked about the potential of representing her hometown program, Parks described it as being both “cute” and “cool”, along with acknowledging the unique aspect of having her support system so close.
Parks has crafted herself into an incredibly multifaceted player that has the feel of being able to fit into any system, mainly because she is actively playing in several different roles across high school and Summer play.
“For high school, I’m always on the ball.” said Parks. “In AAU, it’s nice to be around other elite players because I can go off the ball and go on the ball too. And they make plays for a lot easier than high school”.
As her decision nears, Parks’ values in that decision have become increasingly clear.
“I really want to have a good culture and teams with good culture usually win”
“Immediate impact. I want to go somewhere where I’ll play right away and try to win a championship.”
“Player development, like after basketball or even going to the WNBA”
So what is a prospective fan getting if Parks commits to their school? For starters, are getting something deeper than just an elite basketball player. You’re getting a person who loves to do TikTok dances and will be looking to earn her way to the locker room aux. You’re getting a player who deems her ability to lead by example her most underrated skill.
It goes beyond the ranking.
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