Audi Crooks has a new home in the Big 12. The 6-foot-3 center committed to Oklahoma State women's basketball after a record-setting junior year at Iowa State, making her the highest-profile addition in this spring's NCAA basketball transfer window.
Audi Crooks Leaves Iowa State for New Challenge
Before choosing the Cowgirls, Crooks said she prioritized culture and development over comfort. She wanted shooters who could stretch the floor around her post game and coaches willing to challenge her. So, head coach Jacie Hoyt showed her a reel of missed layups during the recruiting visit.
That kind of directness clearly resonated. Crooks put up 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as a junior while shooting 64.9% from the field. She trailed only one player nationally in scoring and landed on the AP's All-American Second Team. She posted four 40-point performances and closed the year with 37 against Syracuse in Iowa State's first-round NCAA Tournament exit.
Crooks expressed appreciation for her old squad while signaling this change was needed.
"I have a lot of love and care for those people and I always will," she said of Iowa's coaching staff. "But at the end of the day, I had some really honest conversations about the ability to rebuild a roster."
For Oklahoma State, the addition fills an immediate need. The Cowgirls finished 24-10 last season and drew a No. 8 seed before UCLA ended their run in round two. With Crooks anchoring the post, they enter the fall as a legitimate Big 12 contender.
