After losing nearly their entire roster, Oklahoma State women’s basketball unleashed a portal masterclass. Jacie Hoyt landed elite transfers led by Audi Crooks, instantly transforming the Cowgirls into Big 12 title contenders.
STILLWATER, Okla. — After a disappointing end to the 2025-26 season that saw nine players enter the transfer portal, Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach Jacie Hoyt faced a near-total roster rebuild.
Only veteran guard Stailee Heard returned as the lone holdover.
Known for her intense, relationship focused coaching and schemes that emphasize transition offense, perimeter shooting, ball movement, and aggressive defense, Hoyt turned the portal into her primary recruiting tool. The result? One of the nation’s highest-ranked transfer classes, featuring at least two of the top 10 players and instantly elevating the Cowgirls to Big 12 contender status with realistic NCAA Tournament and championship aspirations.
While the haul also included dynamic SEC guard Liv McGill (the nation’s No. 2 transfer from Florida), D-II National Player of the Year Talexa Weeter from Fort Hays State, Lindenwood sharpshooter Ellie Brueggemann, and former five-star Utah guard LA Sneed, Hoyt has added four more to the reload: Audi Crooks, Nene Ndiaye, Zoe Canfield, and Yuting Deng.
Each brings proven production and stylistic fits tailored to Hoyt’s up-tempo, spacing oriented system that hunts easy transition buckets while stretching defenses with three point shooting.
Audi Crooks (Iowa State):
Audi Crooks, a 6-foot-3 center from Iowa State, arrived as the portal’s undisputed No. 1 player and a two-time All-American. A three-time unanimous First Team All-Big 12 honoree, she capped her Cyclones career with elite numbers in 2025-26: 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game on 64.9% field-goal shooting.
Crooks is a dominant interior scorer who feasts in the paint, excels as a rebounder, and finishes through contact with remarkable efficiency.
In Hoyt’s schemes, she becomes the offensive anchor, converting transition passes into layups or post-ups while drawing double-teams that open perimeter looks for teammates. Her presence alone upgrades OSU’s half-court and fast-break efficiency.
Nene Ndiaye (Rutgers):
Nene Ndiaye, a 6-foot-1 forward from Rutgers, provides versatile scoring and defense after leading the Scarlet Knights in 2025-26 with 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. She shot 45.6% from the field and a sharp 41.6% from three-point range across 26 games.
Ndiaye’s playing style shines in her ability to operate inside or out, posting up, slashing, or stretching the floor as a stretch forward with solid defensive instincts on the wing or in help situations.
Hoyt’s system will utilize her multi-positional flexibility to create mismatches, switch defenses, and maintain spacing, allowing the Cowgirls to play fast without sacrificing structure.
Zoe Canfield (Missouri State):
Zoe Canfield, a 5-foot-11 guard who began her career at Kansas before moving to Missouri State, adds proven perimeter depth and local familiarity (Hoyt has known her since grade school).
Limited by injury to just 10 games in 2025-26 (0.9 PPG), she previously flashed elite shooting touch at Kansas, going 8-of-16 from three as a freshman.
Canfield is a crafty point guard and shooter who thrives off-ball and in pick-and-roll sets. She fits Hoyt’s emphasis on ball movement and three-point volume by providing reliable spacing and secondary playmaking, giving the backcourt needed depth behind Heard and the other guards.
Yuting Deng (Baylor):
Yuting Deng, a 6-foot-2 guard from Baylor (previously Auburn), brings elite size and international experience.
In 2025-26 she averaged 6.6 points and shot 37.0% from three in 33 appearances for the Bears; as a freshman at Auburn she earned SEC All-Freshman honors with 11.8 PPG. Deng’s style combines length on the wing, catch and shoot ability, and scoring bursts.
Hoyt will deploy her as a versatile perimeter threat who defends multiple positions while stretching defenses in transition and half-court sets, perfect for the Cowgirls’ predator like fast break mentality.
With Heard providing continuity and this group supplying size, shooting, and scoring, Hoyt has built quite a quick turnaround.
The 2026-27 Cowgirls boast championship potential and should contend deep into the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament. Hoyt’s portal mastery turned uncertainty into opportunity, proving once again that strategic transfers can build contenders overnight.