You never heard of her until now

Sydney deVroedt. Sound familiar?

Perhaps the best athlete in New York City you’ve never heard of.

Don’t believe it?

Try these stats on for size – then we’ll tell you the sport.

How about 132 goals on 230 shots, 57 steals, 34 blocks, 156 points – that’s goals and assists for the uninformed.

The five-foot-five-inch senior from Hollywood, Fla.is a member of the Long Island University women’s water polo team. Make that, she is the water polo team for the Sharks.

But why water polo, of all sports?
“I was always in the pool,” she told the Brooklyn Eagle. “My parents had a pool in our backyard.”

And growing up, deVroedt played on the South Broward (Fla.) High team, as well as with some local clubs, she said. One of those clubs – the Princeton (NJ) Tigers, youth team.

“One of the girls I played with,” deVroedt said, “Committed to St. Francis College. It was Division I water polo; but a big adjustment. The lifestyle was completely different. And it was a different style of water polo.”

deVroedt played defense and was assisting. “The coach turned me into a scorer; more physical and aggressive,” she said.

It sounded almost perfect – until May, 2023 when St. Francis College eliminated their athletic department.

“For a minute, I actually freaked out,” deVroedt admits. “But I knew I wasn’t done. I had an apartment as well as a job in New York City; so, I reached out to LIU. And it was really an easy transition.”

And a super find for the Sharks.

The Sharks won 18 of 30 matches this past season, and deVroedt was named co-Offensive Player of the Year on top of being a unanimous First-Team All-Metro Athletic Conference selection. She was a Second-Team All-MAAC selection in the 2024 season and a 2023 First-Team All-MAAC selection as a member of St. Francis, Brooklyn.

“Huge congratulations to Sydney for being named the MAAC women’s water polo co-Offensive Player of the Year,” LIU women’s Water Polo Head Coach Morgan Allison said. “Her dedication and relentless work over the past four years have truly paid off. Scoring 100 goals and counting this season, this award is well deserved. I couldn’t be prouder of her receiving this..”

That pool isn’t all fun and games, either. “We practice six days,” she said; for two hours in the pool early morning. And two to three days a week we were in the gym for about an hour.”
She started her scoring prowess in college, and said she wanted to be a bigger name, through scoring – she did. As for the sport of water polo, deVroedt, an Exercise and Wellness major, says, “Making a nice play and connecting with teammates is what the sport is all about. There’s something about connecting to teammates.”

As for the Sharks of LIU, and their coach – they’ve connected as well.
Worldwide.

Allison coaches both the women’s and men’s teams at LIU. “We have 16 on the men’s roster and 12 women,” she said. “And not all are on scholarship.”

And not all took the subway to LIU. “We have players from Italy, Australia, Mexico, Germany, South Africa, Canada and Spain,” Allison said.

Allison was a two-sport athlete in the pool, competing for the women’s water polo and swimming and diving teams at St. Francis College, Brooklyn.

The Sharks season ended when they fell to No. 3 seed Mount St. Mary’s 13-11 in the MAAC Championship, held in Poughkeepsie, ten days ago.

LIU finished their fifth consecutive winning season – with a little help from the Terriers of St. Francis College.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] X: @AndyFurmanFSR.