Audi Crooks’ Response To Iowa State Transfer Question Raises Eyebrows
There was a lot of speculation about what Iowa State Cyclones star center Audi Crooks' future would hold after her team was beaten by the Michigan Wolverines in the first round of the 2025 NCAA tournament.
Crooks played great in that game, tallying 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 33 minutes played. This marked the final contest of what was a stellar sophomore campaign where Crooks averaged 23.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She earned third-team All-America honors as a result of this success.
However, the Cyclones just didn't have enough firepower to compete with Michigan outside of Crooks. And because of uncertainty about whether Iowa State could do enough to become true national championship contenders in Crooks' tenure, many fans wanted to see her transfer after last season ended.
But Crooks shut this idea down with a heartfelt Instagram post about a week after Iowa State was eliminated, 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."
Audi Crooks’ Iowa State Response Fuels Transfer Speculation
Fast forward nearly a year, and Crooks is second in the country in scoring, with 25.5 points per game. Iowa State finished the season with a 22-8 record, then lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
It remains to be seen how Iowa State will fare in the NCAA Tournament. However, it seems that Crooks (who still has one year of NCAA eligibility after this season) isn't as dead-set on her future at Iowa State as she was this time last year.
This was conveyed by a comment ESPN's Katie Barnes had in a feature story about Crooks that was published on March 8.
"After all the points, after all the rebounds, after all the praise and after all the criticism, Crooks isn't sure what's next. She knows she wants to play professionally, but she plans to finish college first. When asked if she will play at Iowa State, she pauses. She takes a breath. And doesn't answer the question," the article wrote.
Read more: https://t.co/SZYN6i8wkc
— Hoopsmachine (@hoopsmachine) March 8, 2026
Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that Crooks didn't want to address whether she'd transfer before the season is over. Then again, if she wanted to completely shut down the rumors again, she was given the opportunity to.
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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