Sarah Strong Wins 2026 Wooden Award Over Azzi Fudd, Lauren Betts, More

UConn star Sarah Strong has added another national award to her sophomore season resume.

Strong received the 2026 John R. Wooden Award on Friday after already being named the AP Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year.

UCLA's Lauren Betts, Texas' Madison Booker, Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes and UConn's Azzi Fudd also finished as top-five finalists for the women's award.

All five players were also named to the 2026 Wooden Award All-America team alongside Iowa State's Audi Crooks, South Carolina's Joyce Edwards, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, LSU's Flau'jae Johnson and TCU's Olivia Miles.

Duke's Cameron Boozer took home the 2026 men's award.

Strong averaged 18.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game of her sophomore season.

She hit those numbers while playing fewer than 28 minutes per game while shooting 58.2 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from deep and 83.3 percent from the foul line.

Strong also led the Huskies with 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game to help lead her team to a 38-1 record and a Final Four appearance.

The Wooden Award is awarded annually to outstanding men's and women's college basketball players who meet the award committee's standards of holding at least a 2.0 GPA while "contributing to team effort, and excelling in both offense & defense and exhibiting character."

This is the seventh time the women's award has gone to a UConn player, and the first time since Paige Bueckers took home the honor in 2021.

Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart are the other UConn players who have taken home the award.

Earlier this spring, Strong also received the Wade Trophy and the USBWA's Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. She is now the eighth player in program history to sweep the five major national player of the year awards.

With Fudd set to enter the 2026 WNBA draft, Strong could now be set to take on an even bigger role for UConn during her upcoming junior season.