Azzi Fudd Will Return to UConn for 5th WCBB Season, Forgo 2025 WNBA Draft
UConn star guard Azzi Fudd will return for a fifth season with the Huskies.
Fudd is forgoing the 2025 WNBA draft in order to use her final year of college eligibility, UConn announced Tuesday.
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Fudd told ESPN's Alexa Philippou the additional college season will give her the chance "to work on everything I need to work on."
"She believes one final year in Storrs will take her game to an all-new level," Philippou wrote.
The news comes the day after Fudd and the Huskies advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA tournament with a win over South Dakota State.
Fudd scored 17 points as Paige Bueckers led the Huskies with 34 on 14-for-21 shooting.
Bueckers is projected as the top pick of the 2025 WNBA draft.
Fudd averaged a career-high 15.1 points per game during her sophomore 2022-23 season, which Bueckers missed while recovering from a knee injury. Staying for another season in Storrs could allow Fudd the chance to step up as the Huskies' No. 1 option.
After taking a medical redshirt for the 2023-24 season following the ACL injury she suffered early in the campaign, Fudd has averaged 13.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals through 30 games and 26 starts for the Huskies this season.
She led the Huskies with 27 points in a March Madness-opening win over Arkansas State, and has gone 9-for-14 from behind the arc in two tournament games.
That continues a campaign that has seen Fudd develop into one of the best three-point shooters in college basketball. Her 45.28 percent shooting from deep ranks in the top ten among DI women.
Fudd, who will turn 23 in November, was already a projected first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Showing off her shooting while taking on a bigger role with the Huskies next season could help her cement her status as a top-ten option ahead of the 2026 WNBA season.
For now, Fudd and the Huskies will focus on their ongoing tournament run. The Huskies take on Oklahoma with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.
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