AMES – Big 12 Conference coaches believe 2024-25 could be a big season for the Iowa State women’s basketball team.
The Cyclones were picked to finish second in the league coaches’ annual preseason poll released Thursday afternoon. It’s the highest Iowa State has been picked since the 2022-23 poll, which had the Cyclones as the league favorite.
A lot has changed since that season. Iowa State’s roster underwent a giant makeover and became one of the biggest surprise stories of the season last year. The Cyclones, despite being one of the youngest teams in the nation, matched its best start in conference play in program history with a 6-0 start during the 2023-24 campaign.
Iowa State went on to finish fourth in the league with a 12-6 record and earned a spot in the Big 12 Tournament title game. After earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Cyclones came within a win of reaching the Sweet 16.
With a large portion of its roster returning from a season ago, the Cyclones won’t be sneaking up on anyone. In fact, expectations are through the roof for Iowa State, which was No. 8 in ESPN.com’s preseason rankings back in September. Iowa State opens the season with an Oct. 30 exhibition game against Central.
Coaches in the league voted on the team standings as well as preseason awards. They were not allowed to vote for their own team. Iowa State was picked as a close second behind favorite Kansas State. The Wildcats beat out Iowa State by two points and one first-place vote.
One of the reasons for Iowa State’s high expectations is Audi Crooks. Crooks was picked to the preseason All-Big 12 Team as a unanimous pick. Crooks averaged 19.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 58% from the floor to lead all NCAA Division I freshmen.
Big 12 coaches’ women’s basketball preseason poll
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1. Kansas State
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2. Iowa State
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3. Baylor
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4. TCU
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5. West Virginia
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6. Utah
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7. Arizona
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8. Kansas
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9. Colorado
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10. Texas Tech
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11. Oklahoma State
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12. BYU
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13. Cincinnati
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14. UCF
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15. Arizona State
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16. Houston
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State Cyclones women’s basketball ranked near top of the Big 12
