The NCAA transfer portal officially opened on Monday, April 6. As announced last week, one of women college basketball's biggest stars—Iowa State center Audi Crooks—offically entered her name.
Crooks, a two-time All-American, will play her fourth and final season somewhere other than Iowa State. Over her three seasons for the Cyclones, she helped lead Iowa State to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as a Big 12 tournament title in 2023. The Cyclones made the tournament this year as a No. 9 seed. The rising junior from Algona, Iowa, finished this past season averaging 25.8 points per game with 7.7 rebounds and shooting 64.9 percent from the floor.
As reported last week, South Carolina is expected to be one of several big-time schools interested. Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley can pull off a major recruiting win just days after her team fell 79-51 to UCLA in the national championship. With a returning roster expected to consist of Joyce Edwards, Tessa Johnson, Agot Makeer and Chloe Kitts, Crooks could provide the Gamecocks with a juggernaut center to immediately elevate South Carolina offensively.
While Staley will without a doubt look to land Crooks, she is good enough offensively to garner interest from several big-time programs. Let's take a look at some of the biggest threats to Crooks landing in Columbia.
UCLA Bruins
Crooks heading out West may not feel like the most logical, given her Midwest roots. But UCLA's Cori Close is going to have to rely heavily on the transfer portal to rebuild her team for 2026. The Bruins are losing virtually their entire starting lineup to graduation, including Lauren Betts, Angela Dugalic, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
Close landing a big-time offensive weapon might make her rebuild a lot easier, and would give the Bruins an experienced playmaker on offense. UCLA just coming off of a national championship, something Crooks hasn't truly come close too just yet in her career, also certainly helps.
Texas Longhorns
Many people believed this past season was Vic Shaefer's best chance at bringing a national title for the first time since 1986. After beating South Carolina twice this season, it seemed even more likely.
Instead, the Longhorns lost to UCLA in the Final Four. As for next season, Texas will lose leading scorer, center Kyla Oldacare, as well as guard Rori Harmon. Texas' recruiting class does not include a big-name center, so getting Crooks from the portal might just be what Shaefer needs to bring his program to the mountaintop.
Iowa Hawkeyes
First of all, how amazing would this be? Crooks leaving one home-state school for another that happens to be the Cyclones' biggest in-state rival—you can't make that up.
Rival semantics aside, Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen would be a great way to get her program back on-track. Iowa was a No. 2 seed in this year's tournament, but fell to No. 10 Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a surprise disappointing finish.
Not to mention the Hawkeyes lost former 5-star prospect Addie Deal to the portal, and will lose seniors Hannah Stuelke, Taylor McCabe, Kylie Feuerbach and Jada Gyamfi. Yes, Iowa is expected to return center Ava Heiden, but the Hawkeyes' coaching staff would still be interested in keeping a huge name close to home.
ALSO READ: South Carolina expected to be a contender next year, per ESPN
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey is bringing in a strong recruiting class, headlined by five-star wing Jacy Abii, and also features Amari Byles, Isabella Ragone and Isabella Sangha.
In Crooks, she could bring in another weapon for Fighting Irish star Hannah Hidalgo, who will be returning to South Bend next season. Crooks could bring a new powerful dynamic down low to Notre Dame's offense in 2026, which has relied heavily on strong guard play in recent years.
UConn Huskies
Yes, Coach Staley has said in a statement that she has spoken to UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, and that wants to move on from the drama between them. But having Auriemma swipe Crooks instead of Staley landing her would just add more fuel to this fire. With a matchup scheduled between UConn and South Carolina already on the books for next season, this would just increase the buildup for that one.
Although UConn is expected to return stars like Sarah Strong, Bianca Quinonez and Ashlynn Shade, getting a proven scorer down low just might be what Auriemma needs to fill the void of Azzi Fudd's departure.
The transfer portal window is open until April 20th.