Audi Crooks drops 37 despite Iowa State’s loss (1:09)Audi Crooks goes off for 37 points as Iowa State bows out of the NCAA women’s tournament vs. Syracuse. (1:09)
Alexa PhilippouApr 2, 2026, 10:13 AM ETCloseCovers women’s college basketball and the WNBA Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati EnquirerFollow on XMultiple Authors
Iowa State women’s basketball star Audi Crooks will be entering the transfer portal for her final year of collegiate eligibility, she announced on social media on Thursday.
Crooks has emerged as one of the most prominent faces of women’s college basketball and is the biggest name to enter the transfer portal to date.
The 6-foot-3 junior from Algona, Iowa finished second in the nation in scoring this year as she further established herself as one of the country’s most dominant post presences. She averaged 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 64.9% from the floor as a junior.
“Thank you all for embracing me and showing up to Hilton every single game day,” Crooks wrote in a social media post directed toward Cyclone Nation. “I’ve met so many of you out in the community, and I will cherish all of the genuine connections that I’ve built during my time at Iowa State.
“I still believe the grass is greener where you water it, and I’ve done that here. It’s why I want you to hear from me directly that I have decided to enter the portal and explore what it means to take root again in new ground.”
Crooks was recently named an Associated Press and USBWA second team All American and was tabbed to the Wooden Award All-America Team.
A preseason top-15 team, Iowa State went 22-10 this year, was a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and finished its season with a disappointing first-round loss to No. 9 seed Syracuse in which Crooks scored 37 points.
Audi Crooks drops 37 despite Iowa State’s loss (1:09)Audi Crooks goes off for 37 points as Iowa State bows out of the NCAA women’s tournament vs. Syracuse. (1:09)
Audi Crooks goes off for 37 points as Iowa State bows out of the NCAA women’s tournament vs. Syracuse. (1:09)
She joins nine other Cyclones in entering the portal.
Alexa PhilippouApr 2, 2026, 10:13 AM ETCloseCovers women’s college basketball and the WNBA Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati EnquirerFollow on XMultiple Authors
CloseCovers women’s college basketball and the WNBA Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati EnquirerFollow on X