Audi Crooks Just Turned Oklahoma State Into a Tournament Team and Nobody Saw It Coming

The women's college basketball transfer portal officially closed and the landscape for next season looks completely different. Teams that seemed irrelevant two weeks ago are now serious contenders for deep NCAA Tournament runs. Meanwhile, some powerhouses took major hits. Here's who absolutely crushed it and who's got real work to do heading into 2026-27.

Oklahoma State Went From Barely a Team to Tournament Dark Horse

Oklahoma State's rebuild was genuinely scary at first. Coach Jacie Hoyt lost nine players to the portal, graduated two more, and had exactly one returning player: rising senior Stailee Heard, a two-time All-Big 12 selection. That's it. One player. Three incoming freshmen. How do you even build a roster from that?

But Hoyt executed a masterclass. She didn't splash out on big names. Instead, she found a theme and stuck to it: elite three-point shooters. Ellie Brueggemann from Lindenwood, Talexa Weeter from Division II Fort Hays State, and Nene Ndiaye from Rutgers all shot better than 40 percent from long range last season. Then she added Florida transfer Liv McGill, a high-volume scorer who can operate in the paint and in transition.

Then came the hammer: center Audi Crooks from Iowa State signed with the Cowgirls. That's when everything clicked. Crooks operating in the middle, three-point shooters spacing the floor, McGill working in between. In two weeks, Oklahoma State went from a team that barely existed to a legitimate contender with a ceiling that looks genuinely exciting.

Iowa and Louisville Retool Without Panic

Iowa lost five players to the portal, but coach Jan Jensen didn't overreact. He brought in Dani Carnegie from Georgia and Amari Whiting from Oklahoma State to bolster the backcourt. Here's the thing: Carnegie and Chit Chat Wright, who started 31 games this past season, played together as freshmen at Georgia Tech and logged over 250 possessions together. That chemistry matters. Wright and Carnegie should help establish stability as Iowa tries to bounce back from an early March Madness exit. Hannah Stuelke's graduation hurts after starting 96 games the past three seasons, but Ava Heiden can anchor the interior while the guards and wings continue to develop.

Louisville's offense produced its highest scoring output since 2013-14 this season, and they weren't about to step backward. They lost three top eight players from their Elite Eight team, but coach Jeff Walz reloaded hard. He brought in Carys Baker from Virginia Tech, a 6-foot-2 forward who dropped 16 points and nine rebounds against Louisville this season. Baker can shoot threes and clean up glass. Adding rising junior Zam Jones from NC State strengthened an already talented core of Tajianna Roberts, Imari Berry, and Mackenly Randolph.

Watch the Cowgirls next season. Oklahoma State just became must-see basketball.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.