Iowa State women’s basketball star Audi Crooks will be entering the transfer portal for her final year of collegiate eligibility, she announced on social media on Thursday.
Crooks has emerged as one of the most prominent faces of women’s college basketball and is the biggest name to enter the transfer portal to date.
The 6-foot-3 junior from Algona, Iowa finished second in the nation in scoring this year as she further established herself as one of the country’s most dominant post presences. She averaged 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 64.9% from the floor as a junior.
“Thank you all for embracing me and showing up to Hilton every single game day,” Crooks wrote in a social media post directed toward Cyclone Nation. “I’ve met so many of you out in the community, and I will cherish all of the genuine connections that I’ve built during my time at Iowa State.
“I still believe the grass is greener where you water it, and I’ve done that here. It’s why I want you to hear from me directly that I have decided to enter the portal and explore what it means to take root again in new ground.”
Crooks was recently named an Associated Press and USBWA second team All American and was tabbed to the Wooden Award All-America Team.
She joins nine other Cyclones in entering the portal.
Speculation swirled about Crooks’ future in Ames after she was asked by ESPN in March whether she intended to finish her collegiate career at Iowa State, and she did not answer the question.
A preseason top-15 team, Iowa State went 22-10 this year, was a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and finished its season with a disappointing first-round loss to No. 9 seed Syracuse in which Crooks scored 37 points.
