There is no verified account of Audi Crooks undergoing a deliberate weight loss program. Every article claiming she lost “45 pounds from 250 to 205 lbs” traces back to fabricated AI content with no sourced quotes, no interviews, and no documentation. What is documented is that Audi Crooks is a 21-year-old Iowa State center who is one of the most efficient scorers in NCAA women’s basketball, averages over 25 points per game on nearly 65 percent shooting, and has faced body shaming online since she was 13 years old.
Those are two very different stories.
Who Audi Crooks Actually Is
Audi Rae Crooks was born December 13, 2004, in Algona, Iowa. She grew up in an athletic household. Her father, Jimmie Crooks, played college basketball before passing away in 2021. Her mother, Michelle Cook, is one of Bishop Garrigan High School’s all-time leading scorers. Audi wears jersey number 55 as a tribute to both of her parents.
She is 6 feet 3 inches tall and plays center for the Iowa State Cyclones in the Big 12 Conference. Her official profile at Iowa State Athletics lists her height but, notably, does not list her weight.
Here is a snapshot of what she has actually accomplished on the court:
- Scored 40 points against Maryland as a freshman in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, setting a new single-game record for freshmen
- Named to the All-Big 12 first team in 2024, 2025, and 2026
- Set the Iowa State single-game scoring record with 47 points against Indiana in November 2025
- Named AP Second Team All-American in 2026
- Finished her junior season averaging 25.8 points per game on nearly 65 percent shooting, ranking second nationally in scoring
- Holds Iowa State’s all-time career scoring average record
She also won four state track and field titles in high school, including three in shot put. She plays five instruments. She is studying psychology and sociology. The “fitness world big name” framing some sites use is completely made up.
What Articles Claim vs. What Is Verified
The volume of AI-generated content around this topic is worth addressing directly. Here is what circulates online compared to what can actually be sourced:
| Claim in circulation | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|
| Lost 45 pounds (250 to 205 lbs) | No verified quote or interview confirms this |
| Worked with a personal trainer 5 days a week | No sourced documentation |
| Followed a specific diet plan with nutritionists | Speculative, not attributed to Audi |
| Lost weight to improve basketball performance | Audi’s comments focus on mental resilience, not weight loss |
| Motivated by feeling “sluggish at 250 pounds” | Fabricated quote, no original source found |
Audi’s official weight is not published on ESPN, Iowa State Athletics, or Sports Reference. College Sports Network reported that NCAA women’s basketball programs commonly omit weight from official profiles, partly to protect players from the kind of public scrutiny Audi has already experienced.
The Body Shaming Audi Has Dealt With Since She Was 13
This is the story that actually matters, and it is the one most sites searching for her name refuse to tell.
Audi has been open about the attention directed at her body. In a 2024 interview with On3 Sports, she described what it was like to go viral on ESPN while still in middle school: the first time she was featured on ESPN she was in seventh or eighth grade, still undeveloped, and the comments from adults focused on what she looked like rather than how she played. She described it as “crazy” and said it was too much to handle at such a young age.
The commentary intensified when Iowa State went through a losing streak in early 2026. Critics linked her body to the team’s defensive struggles. Sports commentators and social media users speculated that her size was a liability.
Her response, in a quote that circulated widely: “There might be 100 comments about my body or about how I look. But then there are 1,000 about my skill set, about my character, about how I smile and about how I treat other people.”
Her mother’s advice has stayed with her: kill them with kindness, because it gives no ammunition to fight back.
Why Her Body Is the Reason She Dominates
The fatphobia directed at Crooks misunderstands how athletic performance works. At 6’3″ with a strong build, she is able to hold position in the post, absorb contact, and convert at a rate that most players in the country cannot match. Her career field goal percentage places her among the most efficient interior scorers in women’s college basketball history.
The CDC’s overview of physical activity and health reinforces what exercise science has long established: performance is shaped by training, conditioning, and consistency. Body size alone tells you almost nothing about what an athlete is capable of.
Audi won four state titles in shot put. She dominated in a sport that rewards explosive power, not thinness. The same attributes that critics frame as weaknesses are exactly what make her so difficult to stop.
What Fueling an Elite Athlete Actually Looks Like
Since many people searching this topic are genuinely curious about how an athlete at Audi’s level eats and trains, it is worth addressing this honestly without fabricating a meal plan she never shared.
Elite college basketball players at a program like Iowa State work with sports dietitians and strength and conditioning coaches. Their nutrition plans are tailored to output, not aesthetics. The goal is fuel and recovery, not calorie restriction.
According to Mayo Clinic’s nutrition basics resource, healthy eating for active people centers on getting enough protein to support muscle repair, adequate carbohydrates for energy, and sufficient micronutrients to support recovery. It is not about eating as little as possible.
A center in the Big 12 playing 30-plus minutes per game needs substantial caloric intake. Restricting food to lose weight while competing at that level would be counterproductive and potentially dangerous.
For anyone interested in how to build genuinely sustainable eating habits, our article on whether collagen makes you gain weight covers one common nutrition question worth understanding. And if you have ever wondered why hunger spikes unexpectedly, our piece on why you wake up starving in the middle of the night gets into the science behind appetite regulation.
The Bigger Issue With How We Talk About Athlete Bodies
There is a recurring pattern where fans and media focus on an athlete’s body as a way to explain performance without engaging with the actual game. It happened to Serena Williams throughout her career. It follows Zion Williamson every season. It has followed Audi Crooks since she was a teenager.
WebMD’s look at healthy eating in the real world makes the point that health is not a visual assessment. You cannot determine someone’s cardiovascular fitness, metabolic health, or athletic capability from appearance alone.
Audi Crooks scored 37 points in a first-round NCAA Tournament loss in 2026. She was the sole reason Iowa State stayed in the game as long as they did. That is not the output of someone whose body is holding them back.
The question “did Audi Crooks lose weight?” comes from an assumption that she should. The better question is why that assumption exists for one of the best college basketball players in the country.
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