Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd Headline 2026 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Semifinalists

UConn could be poised to have its first Naismith Women's College Player of the Year since Paige Bueckers in 2019-20.

A pair of Huskies, forward Sarah Strong and guard Azzi Fudd, made the cut for the semifinalists ahead of the NCAA tournament. The group includes Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, UCLA center Lauren Betts and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo.

2025-26 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Semifinalists

• Lauren Betts, C, UCLA
• Mikayla Blakes, G, Vanderbilt
• Madison Booker, F, Texas
• Audi Crooks, C, Iowa State
• Joyce Edwards, F, South Carolina
• Azzi Fudd, G, UConn
• Hannah Hidalgo, G, Notre Dame
• Olivia Miles, G, TCU
• Kiki Rice, G, UCLA
• Sarah Strong, F, UConn

Fudd is averaging 17.7 points and leading the Big East in three-point percentage (44.6). This is her best year yet in Storrs as she assumed a larger leadership role with Bueckers gone.

Strong is the favorite for the major individual awards, though.

The 6'2" sophomore was the only player to be a unanimous first-team All-American by the Associated Press. She's averaging 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks in just 26.4 minutes per contest.

Strong's best performance came in a 100-68 blowout of Ohio State back in November. She shot 12-of-17 from the floor for 29 points and added 13 rebounds for a double-double. She also had seven dimes, five steals and three blocks.

The UConn standout was a force of nature everywhere on the court.

Especially with the unbeaten Huskies earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, Strong's resume is tough to match.

Her strongest competition probably comes from Blakes.

Vanderbilt went 27-4 in the regular season with its .871 winning percentage the second-best in program history. Nobody is more instrumental in the Commodores' success so far than Blakes.

The 5'8" playmaker is the Division I leader in scoring at 27.0 points and has the ninth-highest usage rate (34.6 percent) in the country, per Sports Reference. Her offensive box plus/minus (12.5) is also third behind only Strong and South Dakota State's Brooklyn Meyer.

Blakes has scored 30-plus points in 12 of her 31 appearances, and all but two of those were in conference play.

A lot of attention has been paid to the 2023 recruiting class, which included Hidalgo, USC's JuJu Watkins, Iowa State's Audi Crooks and Texas' Madison Booker. The 2024 group might be just as good considering it boasts Strong, Blakes, Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge and South Carolina's Joyce Edwards.

Nobody is loving this more than WNBA general managers because the depth of talent coming into the league has never been higher.