Iowa State standout Audi Crooks entering transfer portal in surprising move in women’s college basketball

Top Players Entering the Transfer Portal

The transfer portal is seeing some significant activity already. One of the standout names is Audi Crooks from Iowa State, who announced her intention to transfer on Thursday.

Crooks has made quite an impression during her three years with the Cyclones, rising to become one of the premier talents in women’s college basketball.

Starting out with an average of 19.2 points per game as a freshman, she steadily improved—scoring 23.4 points in her second year and hitting 25.8 points this season. This impressive performance actually placed her as the second-highest scorer in the nation.

Her outstanding achievements earned her second-team All-American recognition this year.

Even though she’s spent the last three years at Iowa State, she took to Instagram to share her decision to transfer.

In her post, Crooks expressed, “I still believe that the grass is greener where it’s watered, and that’s what I did here.” She added, “That’s why I want you to hear firsthand that I have decided to enter the portal and explore what it means to re-establish roots in a new land.”

This choice came on the heels of the team’s 72-63 loss to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, where they allowed 37 points that likely marked the end of their season.

Crooks is poised to be a highly sought-after player by various top-tier schools in the wake of her announcement.

Throughout her college career, she consistently averaged seven rebounds per game. This season alone, her stats also included 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.8 blocks, all while maintaining a shooting percentage of 64.9% from the field.

Her scoring prowess is evident; she notched 20 or more points in 22 games and had four games where she scored over 40 points.

Despite such eye-catching statistics, Crooks has faced some criticism, particularly regarding her defensive skills and physicality.

For instance, one commentator remarked, “These Audi Crooks defensive highlights are hard to watch,” pointing out that Iowa State needed to address this issue for deeper postseason success.

Others echoed this sentiment, with one report stating, “Audi Crooks is an offensive weapon…and defensively it’s the biggest liability I’ve ever seen.”

Nonetheless, her impact helped lead Iowa State to a 22-10 record this past season and secure a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The team had tough competition, including defeating the then-No. 1 Iowa and No. 21 Texas Tech during the regular season. However, they were ultimately eliminated early in both the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.