Fudd brings major defensive presence to Dallas

By Josh Ortega

For the second consecutive year, another UConn Husky is coming to North Texas. The Dallas Wings selected former UConn guard Azzi Fudd with the first overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft Monday night.

Fudd, who won an NCAA Women’s National Championship with the Huskies in 2025, now reunites with former teammate and fellow national champion Paige Bueckers. She heads to North Texas as the newest member of the Dallas Wings ahead of the 2026 season. Fudd reflected on hearing her name called after being selected first overall by the Wings.

“I don’t think it’s really sunk in. I don’t really have any words,” Fudd said. “I couldn’t have imagined the feeling of sitting there with my family, hearing your name called, and being able to walk up there. It’s such a surreal feeling. I’m so grateful.” 

Fudd is now the seventh UConn player in WNBA history to be selected first overall. She finished second on the team in scoring, averaging a career-high 17.3 points per game during her senior season, en route to the Huskies’ 38-1 finish, which secured a 24th Big East Tournament title and led to a trip to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Final Four. 

The 2026 first overall pick joins a Wings team looking to rebound under new Head Coach Jose Fernandez after only winning 10 games in 2025. Fudd brings a dead-eye ability to score from both the field and beyond the arc, something she has showcased across her collegiate career. She shot a career high 48.7 percent from the field and 44.7 percent from 3-point range during her final season in Storrs. 

Fudd finished with the fourth most single-season three pointers made in UConn history this past season. 

Fudd shot well above 45 percent from three for a majority of her time at UConn. She finished in the top 10 in the Huskies’ record book in career three-point percentage and fifth in career three-pointers made. Dallas Wing Executive Vice President and General Manager Curt Miller, in a statement, had high praise for the 23-year-old guard’s shooting ability, along with her character. 

“Azzi Fudd is one of the best shooters in our game today,” Miller said. “She has a lightning-quick release, and her movement off the ball is elite. She competes hard defensively and is an efficient, unselfish player who knows how to win. In an outstanding draft class, she stood out to us not only with her basketball skills but with her intangibles. She is a great teammate and has an outstanding basketball IQ. Azzi brings to the Wings the type of character that we want in our locker room. We are ecstatic to add her to our Wings family.”

Combined with her high efficiency scoring ability, Fudd brings a major, defensive presence to Dallas. The Wings struggled on defense throughout the 2025 season, averaging 88.0 points per game allowed to opponents, which ranked second-most in the league. In combination with the third-worst defense rating across the WNBA, with 111.2. 

Fudd set single-season career highs in both steals and blocks in 2025. She averaged 2.5 steals per game while forcing 13 during the postseason, finishing with a top 15 defensive rating at 72.4 in her final year. The Wings have been hard at work in free agency, adding to the front court and on defense. The team brought back guard Arike Ogunbowale and 2025 Co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith among other moves. Fudd expressed her eagerness to learn and her mentality that she brings to the organization. 

“I’m a team mentality, we over me type of player. I’m going to do what the team needs and not anything less,” said Fudd. 

“They (Dallas) know what to expect from that aspect, but I know how to play with great players. I know how to space the floor and move without the ball. I’m just excited to go in and learn the newness of the organization and players.”

As with any highly drafted prospect, concerns arose leading up to the draft about Fudd’s injury history during her five-year college career. She missed 33 games in her first two years with the Huskies, then missed the entire 2023-24 season due to a season-ending injury.

However, Fudd would go on to appear in 34 games during her junior season before playing in a career-high 39 games this past season for UConn. Nonetheless, Fudd expressed the excitement of untapped potential with the Wings and with her reunion with Bueckers.

“Paige is an incredible player, everybody knows that. She’s someone that makes playing basketball with easy. I think just the prior experience of knowing how to play with her will only help going into this,” said Fudd. “Our time at UConn just felt like it was full of injuries. I was playing, she wasn’t, or she was playing, and I wasn’t. It wasn’t until last year that we actually got a chance to play together and, even then, it wasn’t actually a full season. I feel like there is so much left on the table and so much unknown potential with not just her but the entire Dallas Wings roster. I can’t wait.”

The Wings will open the WNBA season on the road against the Indiana Fever on Saturday, May 9.