Azzi Fudd made her alma mater, UConn Huskies and head coach Geno Auriemma, proud after earning the first overall selection in the 2026 WNBA draft. She was drafted by the Dallas Wings, the same franchise that drafted her former Huskies teammate Paige Bueckers last year with the No. 1 overall pick.
After leading UConn to the national championship last year, Fudd fell short of her goal of defending the title this year as her team fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four in March Madness.
Apart from Fudd, one other Huskies player was drafted on Monday. Serah Williams was picked in the third round as the No. 33 pick overall. With this, she becomes the 52nd WNBA college draft selection from UConn. The 2026 WNBA draft marked the 18th time that more than one Husky player was drafted.
Williams played only one season in Storrs and went the distance in March Madness. She finished her college career with 1,748 points, 951 rebounds and 262 blocks. Her achievements include 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and two-time All-Big Ten First Team and All-Defensive Team selections.
Azzi Fudd Becomes 7th UConn Player to be Drafted First Overall in WNBA Draft
Azzi Fudd’s dominant final season at UConn was rewarded in the WNBA draft as she became the seventh Husky ever to go No. 1. She joins UConn’s former first overall picks Paige Bueckers, Breanna Stewart (2016), Maya Moore (2011), Tina Charles (2010), Diana Taurasi (2004) and Sue Bird (2002).
After being announced as the first overall pick, Fudd was overwhelmed with emotions.
“I’m not really sure I have words to describe the feeling, what that meant,” Fudd said. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in. I don’t really have words.”
As per the new collective bargaining agreement, Fudd will earn times six times higher than what Bueckers received as the No. 1 pick last year. Fudd will earn $500K in salary for her rookie season.
At the Wings, Fudd will join Bueckers and All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale in the backcourt. Talking about renewing her chemistry with Bueckers, Fudd added:
“Our time at UConn was full of injuries – either I was playing and she wasn’t, or she was playing and I wasn’t. It wasn’t until last year that we really got a chance to play together, and even then it wasn’t a full season. So I feel like there’s still so much left on the table, so much unknown, so much potential – not just with her, but with the entire Dallas Wings roster.”
It remains to be seen if Fudd and Bueckers dominate the floor as they did in college last year.
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