DENVER — Denver Academy is celebrating a rare milestone: Its first Division I athlete in 15 years. Senior Schuyler Parker is headed to Iona University to play water polo in 2026, breaking through in a sport that’s still growing in Colorado.
“I think in third grade, one of my friends was like, 'You should actually start playing water polo,'” Parker said. “And so ever since third grade, I've been playing for 10 years. Swimming was probably the force behind that.”
Because Denver Academy doesn’t have a water polo team, Parker built her career through club programs, using her swimming background to meet the sport’s intense physical demands. “You have to swim, you have to tread, you have to shoot, you have to tread,” she said.
At 5 feet, 4 inches tall, she often heard doubts about her size in a sport dominated by height.
“A lot of coaches were like, "Because you're five-four, you're not able to do these certain things,” Parker said. “I kind of wanted to prove them wrong. I had to put in a lot of effort, a lot of time commitment. And because of that, I kind of proved them wrong to be going D-I.”
Iona University, just outside New York City, quickly emerged as her top choice.
“I love their support system, the location in New York City, and just the overall atmosphere,” she said.
Denver Academy Director of College Counseling Aurora Medina said Parker’s path is especially significant for Colorado athletes.
“She is competing in a sport that virtually doesn't exist, and she's paving the way as a student-athlete in the state of Colorado,” Medina said. “She just grinds day in and day out and epitomizes what it is to be a top student and a top athlete.”
For Parker, signing her national letter of intent felt like a moment years in the making.
“The fact that I had teachers who've known me since third grade, they've literally been my support system through it all. Signing in front of them and saying 'thank you' to my coaches and my parents and my teachers, my friends supporting me along the way, was just like me telling myself as a 13-year-old girl, like, 'You've done it,'” she said.
