Some major names are already starting to enter the transfer portal.
One of the biggest being Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, who announced her move on Thursday.
Across the last three years with the Cyclones, Crooks has become one of the best players in women’s college basketball.
Audi Crooks ranked second in the nation with 25.8 points per game in 2025-26. Getty Images She averaged 19.2 points per game as a freshman, then upped that number to 23.4 and again 25.8 — the second-best mark in the country this season.
The success earned Crooks second team All-American honors this season.
Despite playing the last three years at ISU, she announced her intention to transfer Thursday in an an Instagram post.
View this post on Instagram “I still believe the grass is greener where you water it, and I’ve done that here,” Crooks wrote.
“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.”
The decision comes after a 72-63 loss to Syracuse in the first round of NCAA Tournament, where she dropped 37 points in her presumed final game with Iowa State.
She’ll immediately become a top target for many top schools and will likely be picked up by a contender.
Crooks has also put up numbers on the glass, hitting the seven rebounds-per-game mark in all three of her collegiate seasons.
On top of her scoring numbers this season, she averaged 7.7 boards, 1.7 assists and 0.8 blocks with a 64.9 percent shooting percentage.
Audi Crooks set a career high with 47 points against Indiana in December. Getty Images She also scored over 20 points in 22 games and even topped 40 an absurd four times.
Despite her gaudy scoring numbers, Crooks has been criticized often for poor defense and her physique.
“These Audi Crooks defensive highlights are tough to watch. For Iowa State to make a real run, they are going to need to figure this out,” one user wrote on X before ISU’s early March Madness exit.
Barstool Sports even wrote “Audi Crooks is an offensive weapon…and the biggest liability you’ve ever seen on defense.”
With Crooks’ dominance, Iowa State went 22-10 in the 2025-26 campaign, earning a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
It snagged wins over then-No. 11 Iowa and then-No. 21 Texas Tech during the regular season but bowed out at the first opportunity in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments.
Now, Crooks will likely star for one of the country’s top programs.
