Colorado University Athletics
Newcomer Spotlight Series: Jade Crook
January 13, 2026 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER - The Colorado Women's Basketball team added 10 new players to the roster ahead of the 2025-26 season. In order to get to know them all a little better, we're introducing the Newcomer Spotlight Series to highlight the five freshmen and five transfers on our squad.
Next up is freshman center Jade Crook.
You grew up in the same county and played with Lauren Jackson. What was it like to have her there as a mentor for you?
It was a really big part of my development. I grew up in Albury. I moved there at the start of high school, and then was lucky enough to be part of the NBL1 team with them. And then she was coming back out of retirement around the same time, which was really, really lucky, and I got to play against her. I took a development year before I was able to play properly in the NBL1. And she was just a great mentor to me. She's obviously an amazing player. I fangirled [over] her the whole year. She just taught me a lot about different ways of playing in the post and showed me what was possible as well.
Did you play any other sports growing up?
No, I played netball for like one season, but I didn't really like it that much. But no, I really stuck with basketball. My dad used to play when he was younger, and he used to just take me in the backyard, and we used to play together. I have always just fallen in love with basketball, so I haven't really ever had too much interest in anything else.
Can you talk about playing and winning the Asia Cup in China?
That team was really, really special. I went to the Center of Excellence in Canberra, which is like a high school at the [Australian Institute of Sport]. So all of the girls in that team, pretty much, were in this Australian team. So I'd been living with these girls for a year and a half at that point, and so they were my closest friends at the time. They were all playing on that team, and were playing against China in the grand final, against one of the girls, who is seven-foot-two, and so there's photos of me trying to guard her, and I'm so tiny [next to] her. I was really proud of us. I've won two Asia cups, but the one that we played in China against China, they had home court advantage. The crowd was crazy full, and it was just so much fun. We ended up beating them, and it was just such a big team effort. It was just one of those highlights. Wearing the green and gold for me means a lot. It's a big honor. I love playing for my country and just playing for my family, and being able to win on a big stage was really, really fun.
What made you decide to play collegiate basketball in the US?
I've always known about coming over for college. My dad came over when he was younger, and he went to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He always knew that it was kind of a pathway, but I got really interested in it after seeing a lot of Australian women coming through the collegiate pathway, and then going on to be in the WNBA and being in the Opals. I think it's just a really cool opportunity to come over somewhere different, travel the world, get a degree, play the sport that I love, and then develop further for my goals in the future. It's a good stepping stone.
Why did you choose CU?
Honestly, for the coaches. They just had a really clear vision for what they saw for me and for the entire team, and I really loved that. I just know that they're really genuine people. I love that about [this] school.
Why do you want to be a physiotherapist?
Well, I either want to be a physio or an occupational therapist. I just like helping people. My thought with the physio is, I want to stay in sports, like I love sports. I love working with athletes. I'm trying to be around athletes and improve the experience as much as you can, from a medical point of view because no one wants to be injured, but if you can help people along with that, I feel like that's a really cool way of staying in sports and being able to help people as well. So it would just be something cool that I want to strive for in the future.
Who do you look up to on the team?
I look up to [Jade Masogayo] a lot. I think she's just a really good, aggressive player, and just a really good person off the court as well. I like to watch what she does on the floor, but also what she does [while] hanging out with her off the court.
What's been one of your favorite moments with the team so far?
There's not really a specific moment, but just hanging out at the house all together. We have a really fun team so just whenever we're all hanging out, we're always going to have some fun.
You mentioned you like to bake, what do you enjoy baking?
I just really bake for my family a lot, and so just cakes, brownies, cookies, whatever I feel like.Â
For more information on the Colorado women's basketball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsWBB.
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Next up is freshman center Jade Crook.
You grew up in the same county and played with Lauren Jackson. What was it like to have her there as a mentor for you?
It was a really big part of my development. I grew up in Albury. I moved there at the start of high school, and then was lucky enough to be part of the NBL1 team with them. And then she was coming back out of retirement around the same time, which was really, really lucky, and I got to play against her. I took a development year before I was able to play properly in the NBL1. And she was just a great mentor to me. She's obviously an amazing player. I fangirled [over] her the whole year. She just taught me a lot about different ways of playing in the post and showed me what was possible as well.
Did you play any other sports growing up?
No, I played netball for like one season, but I didn't really like it that much. But no, I really stuck with basketball. My dad used to play when he was younger, and he used to just take me in the backyard, and we used to play together. I have always just fallen in love with basketball, so I haven't really ever had too much interest in anything else.
Can you talk about playing and winning the Asia Cup in China?
That team was really, really special. I went to the Center of Excellence in Canberra, which is like a high school at the [Australian Institute of Sport]. So all of the girls in that team, pretty much, were in this Australian team. So I'd been living with these girls for a year and a half at that point, and so they were my closest friends at the time. They were all playing on that team, and were playing against China in the grand final, against one of the girls, who is seven-foot-two, and so there's photos of me trying to guard her, and I'm so tiny [next to] her. I was really proud of us. I've won two Asia cups, but the one that we played in China against China, they had home court advantage. The crowd was crazy full, and it was just so much fun. We ended up beating them, and it was just such a big team effort. It was just one of those highlights. Wearing the green and gold for me means a lot. It's a big honor. I love playing for my country and just playing for my family, and being able to win on a big stage was really, really fun.
What made you decide to play collegiate basketball in the US?
I've always known about coming over for college. My dad came over when he was younger, and he went to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He always knew that it was kind of a pathway, but I got really interested in it after seeing a lot of Australian women coming through the collegiate pathway, and then going on to be in the WNBA and being in the Opals. I think it's just a really cool opportunity to come over somewhere different, travel the world, get a degree, play the sport that I love, and then develop further for my goals in the future. It's a good stepping stone.
Why did you choose CU?
Honestly, for the coaches. They just had a really clear vision for what they saw for me and for the entire team, and I really loved that. I just know that they're really genuine people. I love that about [this] school.
Why do you want to be a physiotherapist?
Well, I either want to be a physio or an occupational therapist. I just like helping people. My thought with the physio is, I want to stay in sports, like I love sports. I love working with athletes. I'm trying to be around athletes and improve the experience as much as you can, from a medical point of view because no one wants to be injured, but if you can help people along with that, I feel like that's a really cool way of staying in sports and being able to help people as well. So it would just be something cool that I want to strive for in the future.
Who do you look up to on the team?
I look up to [Jade Masogayo] a lot. I think she's just a really good, aggressive player, and just a really good person off the court as well. I like to watch what she does on the floor, but also what she does [while] hanging out with her off the court.
What's been one of your favorite moments with the team so far?
There's not really a specific moment, but just hanging out at the house all together. We have a really fun team so just whenever we're all hanging out, we're always going to have some fun.
You mentioned you like to bake, what do you enjoy baking?
I just really bake for my family a lot, and so just cakes, brownies, cookies, whatever I feel like.Â
For more information on the Colorado women's basketball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsWBB.
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Players Mentioned
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