Who is Audi Crooks? Meet Iowa State's star in Women's March Madness

USA Today

21-03-2025

Who is Audi Crooks? Meet Iowa State's star in Women's March Madness
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Players in March Madness to watch before the WNBA draft
Mackenzie Salmon and Meghan Hall give a guide on what players to look out for in the March Madness tournament before the WNBA draft.
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Audi Crooks and the Iowa State Cyclones are making noise in the first round of the 2025 women's NCAA Tournament against Michigan.
The center isn't a stranger to March Madness and has authored big moments in her young career. Crooks led the Cyclones with 27 points in the 68-63 win over Princeton in Wednesday's First Four matchup.
Here is what you need to know about Crooks.
How old is Audi Crooks?
Crooks is 20 years old. She's a sophomore at Iowa State, giving her as many as two years of eligibility remaining.
Will Audi Crooks be in the WNBA Draft?
Crooks is not eligible for this year's WNBA Draft because the league requires domestic draft entrants to be at least 22 years old during the year in which the draft takes place and to have no remaining college eligibility or to renounce any future college eligibility. Under the current rules, she'll be eligible in 2027.
How tall is Audi Crooks?
Crooks is listed on the Iowa State roster at 6-foot-3. She's the tallest player on the team, alongside Lily Taulelei, who is also 6-3.
Has Audi Crooks been in the NCAA Tournament before?
Iowa State gained national attention last year when Crooks posted 40 points in the win against No. 10 Maryland in the first round.
Her 40 points were just two shy of Iowa State's single-game record of 42, set by Tonya Burns in 1984. Her 18 made field goals were a program single-game record.
Her mark also matched Baylor legend Brittney Griner's record for most points by a Big 12 player in an NCAA Tournament game.
Where is Audi Crooks from?
An Algona, Iowa native, Crooks was a standout multi-sport athlete at Bishop Garrigan High School, competing in volleyball and track and field.
In basketball, Crooks scored 49 points in the Class 1A state championship game in 2023, setting an all-class state tournament record.
Audi Crooks on drawing inspiration from her father
After defeating Maryland in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Crooks drew widespread attention and support in her postgame news conference.
When asked about a moment before the game in which she stood by herself, closed her eyes and tugged at her shirt, a tearful Crooks explained that she takes time before every game to pray and seek guidance from her late father, Jimmie, a former college basketball player who died in 2021 at the age of 55, when Audi was 16 years old.
'I just try to kind of take a second and ground myself and tap into my spiritual side and just know that everything's going to be OK,' Crooks said. 'He's got the best seat in the house.'
Iowa State's Audi Crooks gets emotional talking about the passing of her father when she was 16 - and how she prays before every game: pic.twitter.com/P66fvcasHe — Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) March 23, 2024
What was Audi Crooks' recruit ranking?
Crooks was ranked as the No. 57 player nationally in the 2023 recruiting class by ESPN.