As one of the most dominant offensive players in the country, Audi Crooks’ name still sits atop the transfer portal list three weeks after her departure from Iowa State.

Audi Crooks was among the best offensive players this past season. She averaged a career-best 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds. But Crooks was severely limited with team success, not reaching beyond the second round of March Madness in her three years despite being one of the top scorers in the country. “I still believe the grass is greener where you water it, and I’ve done that here,” Crooks said in her portal announcement. Now, she is looking for three things from her next program: culture, roster fit and development. 

“I’m looking for culture first and foremost, somewhere with good people,” Crooks said in an interview on NBC Sports. “You can be a good basketball player, but good quality people, good character, and great personalities are number one.”

Using Crooks’ own reference, the grass is greener where you water it but the soil needs to be fertile as well. Ultimately, Crooks’ target is becoming a top pick in the WNBA while leaving college basketball with some trophies to show for it. After three years, it seemed her progress was stalled. Her offensive talent continued to shine, but the defensive side of the game saw little improvement. 

For reference, her defensive box plus-minus was 0.7 as a freshman, among the worst in the country. This past season, it was 1.3, which is an improvement but still doesn’t match her other peers and standards. She also wants a tactical fit on the court, as well as a coach who will mold her into a WNBA-ready player. 

“Number two, somewhere with some shooters. I need help from the outside to be an inside-outside threat type of team, a dual-threat team,” she said. “Number three, somewhere that is going to push me hard and develop me into who I want to be when my name is called, hopefully here in New York.”

So far, there have been a couple of destinations that have been prominent in the rumor mill. Candace Parker suggested Notre Dame as an ideal destination where Hannah Hidalgo would cancel out Crooks’ defensive lapses. However, that was quashed by an On3 report that said there is “no truth to Irish interest in Audi Crooks.” 

That is also backed by the stylistic fit Crooks mentioned, as only 28.3% of Notre Dame’s shots this season were threes. Some other destinations proposed have been UCLA, Minnesota, or even the Iowa Hawkeyes. Cori Close could be the ideal coach for Crooks, as UCLA made history in this draft with five players going into round one.

They are the reigning National Champions and completely rebuilding their roster. Close could build with Crooks as the main offensive driver. However, there is another potential school Crooks could thrive in and she has planned to visit but there are some financial constraints as well. 

Audi Crooks Plans To Visit Big 10 School Amid Financial Demands

Audi Crooks is among the most valued players in this transfer portal. According to Pete Nakos from On3, her asking price is well beyond half a million. “An SEC team has Crooks’ value in the $450,000 to $500,000 range, a source told On3, but expects the center to be asking for well north of the half-million mark,” Nakos wrote. There would be few teams who could actually afford that but Crooks will be visiting one of them that would. 

According to Talia Goodman of On3, she plans to visit Maryland in the coming days. And they could tick all of Crooks’ boxes. Brenda Frese is one of the most revered coaches in the country who can bring Crooks to her best. She is a two-time National Coach of the Year and has taken Maryland to three Final Fours, 14 conference titles and a National Championship in 2006. Although they were an average three-point-shooting team at 32.5%, all of their top 5 scorers were shooters. 

But will they be able to afford Crooks’ NIL demand? That remains in doubt. According to reports, the program had allocated Brenda Frese’s side $2 million in 2025-26. Or Crooks could even lower her demands for a better fit. For now, the situation remains fluid. But one thing is clear: Audi Crooks is committed to becoming a top draft pick in 2027.