Breakthrough Season for UConn Guard After Battling Back from Injury
Fifth-year senior Azzi Fudd has faced great adversity in her time at UConn. Throughout her career, Fudd has sustained at least four lower-body injuries that have kept her from playing, one of them causing her to miss an entire season. It’s no wonder why she decided to stay at UConn for her remaining year of eligibility. Fudd knew she had some unfinished business to attend to after such a rocky college career. This season, her efficiency is through the roof as she leads her team to be national championship contenders once again.
Unable to Shake Injury Year After Year
In her freshman year, Azzi Fudd injured her right foot and missed 11 games. Ever since then, it’s been a domino effect of injuries. Some were worse than others, but all of them caused her to miss valuable playing time. In 2022, Fudd injured her right knee and missed eight games. When she came back, she reinjured the same knee, missing an additional 22 games that season. As frustrating as that was for Fudd, the next season wouldn’t be much better. In 2023, she suffered a torn ACL and MCL in her right knee. This injury happened early in the season and caused her to miss all but two games. That brings us to last season, the national championship run. Azzi Fudd returned to play and was able to become a more consistent scorer for the Huskies. The team was glad to have Fudd back as they secured their 12th national title with her help.
A Season of Getting Stronger for Azzi Fudd
The 2024-25 season was full of redemption for all the time lost due to injury. Azzi Fudd returned to playing basketball for good in November of 2024 and wasted no time making an impact. During her redshirt junior season, she averaged 13.6 points per game and played around 25 minutes per game. A notable game for Fudd was against South Carolina in February of 2025, where she dropped 28 points. She also made six three-pointers in that game, leading them to a nearly 30-point win. It seemed like Fudd was rewarded for the hardships she endured when they won the national championship in 2025. Now, she’s looking to lead her team to another title.
How Azzi Fudd Has Stepped Up Her Game in 2026
After her teammate Paige Bueckers graduated, Azzi Fudd took it upon herself to lead the Huskies into the new season. It seemed to take no time at all for UConn women’s basketball to find its groove as it entered non-conference play. In November, they played Louisville and ranked Michigan, where Fudd recorded 31 points. In December, Fudd had 17 points against 16th-ranked USC and 27 points against the 10th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. These big wins are just a small part of their journey to being 25-0 on the season. Azzi Fudd’s success comes from a couple of things, the most impressive being her quick release on her three-pointer. It is incredibly hard to guard someone who doesn’t need a wind-up to shoot a three. Another standout thing about Fudd is her speed and crafty defense. There are a lot of turnovers forced because of the quick hand of Fudd. In the NCAA, she sets a standard for women’s basketball players by being a great leader and showing respect towards other players. This is such an admirable quality for young girls to witness. Azzi Fudd is now scoring more efficiently than ever, averaging 17.4 points per game and leading UConn in their dominating season. She is certainly one of the most valuable players that the UConn women’s basketball program has produced.
