Audi Crooks Responds to Iowa State Future Question After NCAA Tournament Loss
There is a lot of interest in what Iowa State Cyclones star Audi Crooks might do with the rest of her collegiate career, regarding whether she'll finish her college eligibility playing at Iowa State or take her talents to the transfer portal.
This question became a major topic after the Cyclones were beaten by the Michigan Wolverines in the first round of the 2025 NCAA tournament last year. However, Crooks put any questions to rest shortly after with an Instagram post saying, "Dear Cyclone Nation, Thank you to all the coaches and fans that have supported me on this journey. After much thought and consideration... quit asking! I am right where I want to be! Let's run it back. #LOYALforevertrue".
The post's next slide wrote, "The grass is greener where you water it."
However, Crooks didn't seem as definite about this when speaking about ESPN's Katie Barnes for a March 8 article.
"When asked if she will play at Iowa State, she pauses. She takes a breath. And doesn't answer the question," Barnes wrote about Crooks. This lack of a response caught some attention and made the Cyclones' trip to the 2026 NCAA Tournament even more interesting to follow.
Iowa State was eliminated by Syracuse after losing to them 72-63 on March 21. Crooks finished with a whopping 37 points on 17 of 25 from the field, although this wasn't enough to will her Cylones to a victory.
Audi Crooks Gets Asked About Her Future at Iowa State
Crooks and her teammate Jada Williams spoke with the media after the game. When Crooks and Williams were asked whether they planned to stay at Iowa State in the future, both paused for a moment and looked at each other before Williams said, "Um, yeah. I haven't really thought about it, but I don't think that's a question," per a video from the Des Moines Register.
Crooks then said, "We're all still processing everything, and just being there for each other right now is the priority. That's the main thing, making sure everybody is mentally okay through this tough time."
While there wasn't anything definitive said in this response from Crooks, it was interesting to note that she didn't address the question directly like Williams did. There will surely be more speculation about what Crooks will do for her final NCAA season until she goes public with a clear decision.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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