Audi Crooks Decided to Become a Cowgirl After Jacie Hoyt Confronted Her with Lowlight Reel

STILLWATER — Audi Crooks was the most-coveted player in the country when she entered her name in the transfer portal.

The All-American made up her mind to become a Cowgirl after Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt took what Crooks described as a “unique” recruiting tactic halfway through her visit.

“She had put together some clips and it was like a lowlight reel,” Crooks said. “… It was just a reel of missed layups.”

Audi Crooks shares a story about #okstate coach Jacie Hoyt showing her a lowlight reel during her visit.

“Man, that’s really gutsy of you to sit here and show me everything that I’m doing wrong, but I really appreciate that.” pic.twitter.com/wzvr5lUCkh

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) June 22, 2026

Crooks’ commitment as the No. 1 portal prospect cemented Oklahoma State’s status as the top portal class in the country, according to ESPN, On3 and USA Today. It’s safe to say Crooks had interest from many teams throughout the nation, but Hoyt stood out.

“I thought to myself, man, like that’s pretty gutsy for you to sit here and show me everything that I’m doing wrong,” Crooks said. “But I really appreciate that. I appreciated that reality. I appreciated her approach with it. She’s not somebody that’s just going to say, ‘Oh, come over here, we have the sun and the moon and the stars.’ No, you’re here to work, and so knowing that she had that mentality to even humble me on my visit when she’s actively trying to get me to come to her school, and yet, she’s going to humble me in that way, and knowing that that accountability was going to be present that is what made me decide.”

On Monday, a reporter asked Hoyt if she ever questioned the decision to show Crooks that particular package of clips during her visit. Hoyt said creating that “lowlight reel” was actually an easy decision because elite players like Crooks who dream of playing professionally crave feedback.

“It’s just so important for me as a coach, to be who I am all the time,” Hoyt said. “And just be authentic with that, and it was really important on everyone’s visit, especially for Audi, to be real with her because you know she’s got one year left, and we wanted to get it right for ourselves, we want her to get it right for her.

“And that’s real, me coaching her, telling her the areas that she needs to get better. … I know the goals that she has for herself, and they are not for the faint of heart.”

Of course, Crooks didn’t just sign on because Hoyt refused to sell her nothing but sunshine during her visit.

“Honestly, the main reason I feel like a lot of us came here was the system,” Crooks said. “For me, this system I feel like translates a lot better to the WNBA and professional style basketball.”

Crooks finished the 2026 season averaging 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 64.9% from the floor.

In her two 2026 outings against Oklahoma State, she averaged 17 points and seven rebounds while shooting 50%. Only two other opponents held Crooks below 50% in a game this season, and she failed to score 18 points in only three other games.

Oklahoma State won both meetings by 28 and 11 points, respectively.

“I think you go back and watch the games last year where I had to compete against (Hoyt), she beat us twice, and it wasn’t by two or four points,” Crooks said. “She, you know, kicked our butt schematically, and I thought, you know, I want to be a part of that, and I want to join a system that I feel like is really going to translate to professional play.”

When asked to elaborate further what Crooks hopes to get out of playing in Hoyt’s system, Crooks focused on the mental part of her game.

“I feel like overall IQ expansion, honestly,” Crooks said. “I feel like I will hopefully be able to fit into some different schemes, throw different things at people. There’s a lot of pick and rolls going on here, so I’m hoping to just be a vessel and a tool to help everybody else, help the guards get to the basket and help them score a little bit.”

Most of the Big 12, and the nation, had trouble limiting Crooks’ success in the past, but they might have an even tougher challenge in 2027 based on Hoyt’s early impressions.

“She’s all in right now,” Hoyt said. “She’s making commitments and sacrifices that I don’t think she’s ever made for herself, and the great thing about that is she’s already seen the improvements, just two weeks in.”