There’s a possibility that if Iowa State women’s basketball player Audi Crooks weren’t capturing accolades and leading her team to NCAA tournament appearances, she would be a member of the school’s pep band.
The 2026 Big 12 preseason player of the year is a multi-instrumentalist, playing the guitar, bass guitar, trumpet, drums and piano, according to Iowa State. At Bishop Garrigan High School in Algona, Crooks participated in band and choir while also becoming one of the top basketball prospects in the nation.
She recently showcased her skills on the keys in an Instagram post by the Big 12, where she was filmed playing the piano at the Big 12 women’s basketball media day at the T-Mobile Center on Oct. 21.
During the minute-long clip, Crooks plays and sings Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me and Calum Scott’s “Dancing On My Own,” to an audience of media members and her Cyclone teammates.
The video ends with Iowa State’s Jada Williams and Addy Brown joining Crooks on the piano for the trio’s rendition of “Heart and Soul.”
2025-26 Iowa State women’s basketball schedule
*-denotes Big 12 Conference game
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Oct. 28 vs. UW-Oshkosh (exhibition)
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Nov. 16 vs. Norfolk State
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Nov. 28 vs. Marquette in Fort Myers, Fla.
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Nov. 30 vs. Indiana or Gonzaga in Fort Myers, Fla.
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Dec. 7 vs. Northern Illinois
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Jan. 11 vs. West Virginia*
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Jan. 18 at Oklahoma State*
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Feb. 18 vs. Arizona State*
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Feb. 25 vs. Oklahoma State*
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State’s Audi Crooks plays piano at Big 12 media day
