Parola joined the Redbird baseball staff as the director of operations in the fall of 2019. Previously, Parola was a five-year member of the Illinois State baseball team (2015-2019).

While a student-athlete, Parola started in 170 of his 184 games played, spending a majority of his time at second base. He batted .265/.315/.376 during his 688 career at-bats, posting 182 hits, 110 RBIs, 106 runs, and 47 extra-base hits. He was a key contributor on the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship team that went on to advance to the NCAA Tournament regional final.

Other accolades Parola collected during his time at Illinois State as player include being named to the MVC All-Tournament Team in 2017, earning the MVC Commissioner's Excellence Award in 2015, and being placed on both the AFNI and MVC honor rolls multiple times during his career.