Audi Crooks’ transfer portal move to Oklahoma State was more than surprising. It was both loud and a shock. Most of this unwanted noise stems from Crooks’ NIL income, which, according to some reports, was rumored to be $1.4M. Now, the Cowgirls’ head coach, Jacie Hoyt, has doubled down regarding those rumors.
Speaking in a recent interview, Hoyt didn’t share any details of Crooks’ NIL contract, but clearly dismissed the $1.4M rumor that’s been spreading quickly in the market over the last few weeks.
“There’s a lot of fake news out there. I don’t know how people can just make things up and put it out there as if it’s fact,” Crooks said. “I’ll just be the first to say, the $1.4 million graphic that came out on Audi — that’s not true. I’m not going to get into the details on that, that’s really no one’s business, but everyone thinks that’s what it is now, and that’s just kind of crazy.”
The rumors didn’t come in isolation, though. In the current era of college basketball, NIL deals genuinely impact players’ decisions about which collegiate institutions to choose. For instance, we also saw it last year when reports suggested that prodigy AJ Dybantsa’s family had reported a threshold of $5M in NIL money.
And given Crooks’ stature as one of the most dominant offensive frontcourt players in this era, there wouldn’t be many surprises as well if the former had bagged a $1.4M NIL deal. But as Hoyt mentioned, it’s false, and so are the rumors that came with the amount, like Crooks now being the third-highest-paid women’s basketball player in the world after the WNBA’s A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston.
Furthermore, an On3 report last month claimed that the former Iowa State center is seeking NIL deals worth $500K. Given this report, Crooks’ decision to choose Oklahoma State is surprising. The program hasn’t broken their bank quite often in the last few seasons.
For instance, their former football coach, Mike Gundy, said in 2024 that the program had spent around $7M in the last three years, which isn’t a major spending in the current spectrum of college football. Now, the women’s basketball department to football comparison is like apples and oranges, but Gundy’s assessment clearly shed light on where Oklahoma State stands in terms of financial spending.
Head coach Jacie Hoyt also echoed a similar sentiment in her conversation. “We were very intentional with the kids that we brought in, and it wasn’t just a money game. All of our kids came here for reasons that are so much bigger than money,” Hoyt said.
From an on-court perspective, landing a player like Audi Crooks is a major win for Oklahoma State. And subsequently, it can significantly raise the program’s ceiling, and it is definitely looking like a National Championship contender next season.
Oklahoma State Looks Daunting for the Next Season With Audi Crooks’ Addition
In the last few years, Oklahoma State has been a team that consistently gets into the Championship race but fumbles early every time. For instance, last season, they made a promising start with a blowout win over Princeton. But immediately in the next round, they faced a thrashing from the eventual defending champions- the UCLA Bruins.
This season, head coach Jacie Hoyt is looking for a change. And the stellar transfer portal they navigated in the offseason just adds weight to it. The Cowgirls didn’t have any solid foundation to build upon. They lost most of their players to the transfer portal.
The program just saw guard Stailee Heard returning. But the additions they made even edge out the strength of the previous roster. With Audi Crooks, the Oklahoma State already has established dominance in the frontcourt. In her last three years, Crooks has given 19+ points seasons with ease.
In fact, in the last season, her scoring spree skyrocketed, averaging over 25 points per game. And without a doubt, Crooks will bring the same level of intensity this season as well. Another crucial player that the Cowgirls landed was Liv McGill from Florida.
McGill is a dynamic guard with a formidable scoring burst and elite playmaking skills. With her taking charge, Oklahoma State’s backcourt also gets a new tempo. In addition, the program has also roped in players like Ellie Brueggemann, Nene Ndiaye, and Yuting Deng to add depth to the roster.
Being the experienced one, Audi Crooks will likely have to fit into a leadership role next season. And subsequently, it will be interesting to see how she buys into a new team with a new set of players after three impressive seasons at Iowa State.
