One of the biggest stars in women’s college basketball is hitting the transfer portal after a disappointing first-round exit in the 2026 NCAA tournament.
Audi Crooks has entered her name in the transfer portal after a stellar three-year career with the Iowa State Cyclones. Crooks is also eligible to enter the 2026 WNBA Draft, but if she decides to stay in college, she might be the most coveted player in the portal for her final year of eligibility.
Crooks is a 6’3 big who is one of the most dominant interior scorers in the sport. She averaged 25.8 points per game this season which was second in DI behind only Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes. Even better, Crooks shot 65 percent from the field, making her one of the most efficient scorers in the country. Crooks was also fourth in the Big 12 this year with 7.7 rebounds per game. She made a career-best 73 percent from the free throw line.
Crooks has some shortcomings defensively, and can be a tricky player to fit into an existing team structure. She ideally needs to be paired with a mobile front court partner who offers a little more rim protection. She also only made one three-pointer this year, so she’s not exactly a floor spacer.
Still, Crooks is such a great scorer and so efficient with her touches that she’s going to demand some huge offers in the transfer portal. Here are five schools that should be interested.
TCU is known for going after big names in the transfer portal: they landed Hailey Van Lith from LSU for her final season, and then snatched Olivia Miles from Notre Dame for her last year of college eligibility. Could it happen again with Crooks? The Horned Frogs made the Elite Eight this year before getting run over by No. 1 seed South Carolina, and they could definitely use more talent in the front court. Marta Suarez is likely out of eligibility after five college seasons, but 6’7 sophomore center Clara Silva could return. Silva and Crooks could be an awesome front court. TCU is more known for putting its resources into high-level guards, and it will need another one with Miles entering the WNBA, but throwing a bag at Crooks would be good business.
There’s already so much star-power at USC. Why not add one more big name? USC will have JuJu Watkins returning from her torn ACL next year. It will also have freshman star Jazzy Davidson entering her sophomore season. The Trojans struggled this year without Watkins in part because they didn’t have much size or talent in the front court. Adding Crooks would change that. Imagine Watkins and Davidson paired with a low-post monster — it could be electric. At the same time, there’s only one basketball to go around, and Crooks’ addition could complicate the spacing. USC might be better suited to go after “dirty work” style bigs instead of volume scorers, but Crooks is so talented that I think this could work out well.
Texas is a wagon that just made the the Final Four. It has a star in Madison Booker, and the 6’1 forward will have one more year of eligibility remaining. Booker can space the floor even if she had a rough shooting year from three, and adding a star center like Crooks next to her could be ideal. Current big Kyla Oldacre is likely out of eligibility after this tournament run ends after four college seasons. Justice Carlton could return in the front court for her junior year. Crooks would give Texas a different look than Oldacre as more of a scorer instead of a defender, but the team’s perimeter defense should be good enough to insulate her. I love the idea of Crooks in Texas.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame badly needed front court talent this season. The Irish still made the Elite Eight because of star point guard Hannah Hidalgo, but they were blown out by UConn with Sarah Strong crushing them on the interior to end their season. Crooks would give the Irish a different dimension than the team’s small-ball look this season, but it could be worth sacrificing some spacing to bring in a deadly paint scorer. Crooks and Hidalgo together would be a must-see duo.
LSU had a heartbreaking loss to Duke in the Sweet 16 this year, but should return a good team again next season. Kim Mulkey knows how to pull superstars out of the transfer portal, and Crooks will likely be the biggest star available this year. The Tigers mostly played a small-ball look this season with their top-five scorers all listed as guards. Big Amiya Joyner should be out of eligibility, and 6’2 forward Grace Knox will have a chance for a big sophomore leap. I love the idea of putting Crooks in the front court and letting LSU’s athletic perimeter handle the defense around her.
