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Get ready for the year of Azzi Fudd at UConn.
After winning Most Outstanding Player in last year’s NCAA Tournament and helping lead the Huskies to their 12th national title last spring, Fudd appears primed and ready to take on the ‘lead dog’ role in UConn’s offense in the absence of Paige Bueckers.
Fudd is certainly ready for this moment, and she spent the offseason working alongside Stephen Curry’s trainers in an effort to get even better as a redshirt senior. She should be a National Player of the Year contender, and as is typically the case at UConn, anything short of another national title will be considered a disappointment.
All of that should position her pretty well when she goes pro next spring. So, where does she rank on ESPN’s latest Mock WNBA Draft?
Michael Voepel’s latest projections were released on Thursday, and Fudd came in third in the latest mock, with UCLA center Lauren Betts in at No. 1, and TCU point guard Olivia Miles (formerly of Notre Dame) second.
Health may be the biggest thing that holds Fudd back from being the top pick, as teams may be wary of the injury issues that have plagued her throughout her college career.
“After injury issues during her first three years at UConn, Fudd had an overall healthy 2024-25, playing in 34 of the Huskies’ 40 games. She averaged 13.6 PPG and shot 43.6% from behind the arc for the national champions. Fudd’s talent has never been a question: She is an elite player when healthy, especially as a perimeter scorer,” Voepel wrote.
Of course, there’s a long way to go between now and the WNBA Draft, and Fudd will look to improve her stock this season.
You can check out the complete mock draft here.
