When a player like Audi Crooks hits the transfer portal, every serious program in women’s college basketball has to ask the same question: What would she look like in our uniform? For Notre Dame, the answer is pretty easy to picture.
Crooks is coming off a monster season at Iowa State, averaging 25.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and shooting 64.9 percent from the field, while Hannah Hidalgo is returning to South Bend for her senior season after an ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year campaign. That alone is enough to make the idea of Crooks in South Bend feel massive.
Nothing is official, and the Notre Dame buzz is still just that for now: buzz. But there is enough smoke around the possibility to make the fit worth talking about seriously. And if the Irish ever did land her, it would not be hard to see why this could become one of the biggest portal additions of the offseason.
1. Hannah Hidalgo would make Crooks even harder to stop
This is the most obvious reason, and probably the biggest one. Crooks is already one of the best interior scorers in the country. She does not need much space, she finishes through contact, and she has the kind of touch around the basket that turns even good defense into a losing battle. Now imagine putting that next to Hannah Hidalgo, one of the most electric guards in the sport. Hidalgo averaged 25.3 points this season and has built her reputation on relentless pressure, playmaking, and constant downhill force.
That kind of backcourt-frontcourt combination would be miserable to defend. If opponents collapse on Crooks inside, Hidalgo gets cleaner driving lanes and more room to operate. If they load up on Hidalgo, Crooks gets single coverage on the block, which is basically a losing proposition. It becomes a pick-your-poison offense immediately, and that is the kind of star pairing that can carry a team deep into March.
2. Notre Dame has the ceiling Crooks should want
Crooks is not just any portal player. ESPN identified her as the biggest name to enter the women’s portal so far, and that means the decision should be about more than comfort or familiarity. It should be about chasing the biggest possible stage. Notre Dame just made the Elite Eight, and with Hidalgo returning, the Irish are clearly thinking about national title possibilities, not just another solid season. (ESPN.com)
That matters because Crooks is at the point in her career where fit and stakes need to align. She has already proven she can put up huge numbers. The next step is proving those numbers can translate on a team built to win the whole thing. Notre Dame offers that kind of platform. Putting Crooks into a roster with a returning superstar guard and a coach in Niele Ivey who has already shown she can build a contender would raise the expectations immediately, but it would also raise the reward.
3. Notre Dame has room for exactly this kind of star
Sometimes, the biggest portal rumors sound good in theory but fall apart when you really look at the roster. This one is different. Notre Dame has enough outgoing production and enough need for frontcourt scoring that Crooks would not be forced into an awkward role. She would arrive as a centerpiece, not a luxury. Reports around Notre Dame’s roster turnover and returning core make it clear there is room for a high-usage offensive force, especially one who can change how defenses have to play every possession.
That is what makes this idea so intriguing. Crooks would not have to become something she is not. She would not have to drift away from the paint or reinvent her game overnight. She could be the same dominant interior scorer she has always been, just with better spacing, a better co-star, and a bigger spotlight. For a player with one year left to make her final college statement, that is a pretty compelling setup.
In the end, the biggest reason Crooks feels like a perfect Notre Dame fit is simple: the pairing makes basketball sense and big-picture sense at the same time. She fills a need, amplifies Hidalgo, and would give the Irish the kind of one-two punch that can change the national championship conversation in a hurry. That is why this rumor has people paying attention. And that is why, if it ever becomes real, Notre Dame would instantly look like one of the most dangerous teams in the country.
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