All Eyes On Azzi Fudd

It’s a snowy Sunday afternoon when Azzi Fudd hops on our call. The 23-year-old University of Connecticut Huskies guard is on her way back from basketball practice with a full afternoon still ahead — including homework and an extensive recovery routine.

Currently ranked No. 2 in the Big East for scoring and ESPN’s No. 4 overall player as of midseason, Fudd is no stranger to handling a packed schedule. In addition to schoolwork and training, the UConn student athlete also hosts her own podcast and fulfills brand partnerships (she’s worked with Celsius, DoorDash, American Eagle, and more).

“During the season, the social life kind of struggles,” Fudd laughs, noting that in-season she’s spending the majority of her time with her teammates. “All I’ve ever known is being busy and the grind and having really good time management skills because you don’t have a ton of free time.”

A typical training day in-season for Fudd starts early in the morning, tackling her podcast, attending Bible study, or meeting with her sports psychologist. After an early lunch, she begins her hour-and-a-half-long pre-practice warm-up. Then, as a team, the athletes watch film to analyze their gameplay, do a quick lift, and practice for a few hours. Fudd lifts again before moving into recovery, which includes rolling out her muscles, sitting in the sauna, cold tub, and hot tub, before eventually showering and heading to a three-hour block of classes.

“A lot of times when I have a bunch of free time, I’m like ‘OK, so what’s next?’” she says. Even though she keeps a stacked schedule, Fudd finds a way to embrace the still moments when she has them, whether it’s a movie night with teammates (often a horror or psychological thriller with lots of snacks), hanging out with her family, or reading a good book (she’s currently reading Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid).

Dubbed the “people’s princess” for being an elite two-way player, Fudd’s basketball roots go back to the very beginning. She grew up in Arlington, Virginia, with her parents, former D1 and WNBA draftee Katie Smrcka-Duffy Fudd and former D1 player Tim Fudd. Both were coaches by the time Fudd was born, and some of her first memories of basketball are attending her parents’ games and hanging out with the players in their off time. “I really grew up in the gym; it was my playground,” she says.

Not only was Fudd immersed in the game from a young age, but her name is an ode to her mother’s favorite player: Jennifer Azzi. Despite being named after a former NCAA champion and WNBA Hall of Famer, Fudd says there was never any pressure from her parents to live up to her namesake, but once she finally played basketball for the first time, she never looked back. She’d eventually go on to play at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., where she’d become the No. 1 recruit in her class and win national player of the year honors.

All my dreams are coming true, so it’s really easy to get wrapped up in that and lose focus of what’s going on now.

“As I got older and continued playing and getting better and falling more in love with the sport, my dreams continued to grow,” Fudd says. She never set out with the intention of playing D1 or even winning an NCAA championship; she was more interested in challenging herself to be the best she could be and seeing where she ended up. She often looked to the players her parents coached for inspiration and growth early on in her career.

Now, almost two decades later, Fudd not only wears her mother’s number, 35, while playing for one of the best D1 teams in the nation, but she also earned her own NCAA championship last year and is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2026 WNBA draft. If analysts are correct, Fudd will be joining former UConn teammate — and girlfriend — Paige Bueckers on the Dallas Wings.

In her current season, Fudd is 18-0 with an impressive 100% free-throw percentage. She currently holds the Huskies’ program record for consecutive free throws made. Her accuracy from the boundary line — and reputation as an elite three-point shooter — is what makes her such a formidable force on the court.

“I spent a lot of time working on my shot growing up and, as much as my shot anywhere on the court is muscle memory, a free throw is the same,” Fudd says. “I remember the day I created my routine with my dad in this super tiny Catholic gym. It’s been years of working on it, so when you go up there, you don’t think. You just do what you do every day.”

As one of the NCAA’s leading scorers, the 5-foot-11-inch guard has been likened to her mentor, Stephen Curry, with whom she inked an NIL deal at the start of her collegiate career. It’s a compliment Fudd takes to heart, being compared to the best shooter in NBA history. “To even have my name put in the same sentence and conversation is unreal,” she says.

While it’s easy for Fudd to get caught up in what’s next, she’s focused on completing her MBA and leaning on her faith in the last few months of her college basketball career. Her biggest priority right now is staying present and not taking anything for granted.

My goal has been to stay present and make sure I’m controlling the controllables, being a great teammate, and getting better every day.

“All my dreams are coming true, so it’s really easy to get wrapped up in that and lose focus of what’s going on now,” she says. “My goal has been to stay present and make sure I’m controlling the controllables, being a great teammate, and getting better every day. I know if I do that, then whatever’s supposed to happen down the road will take care of itself.”

Fudd’s idea of “controlling the controllables” — advice given to her by her father — is rooted in the concept of fundamentals. Of breaking down every aspect of your game to get better. For Fudd, it’s especially important to focus on the “three E’s” her father taught her were the most important: her energy, effort, and enthusiasm. It also means protecting her peace and finding her footing as she steps further into the limelight.

“These last couple years have definitely been a learning experience — learning what to share, what not to share, how to share more and show my personality and who I am and be true and authentic to myself while also keeping what I want private,” Fudd says. As a breakout basketball star with over 1.4 million followers on Instagram and TikTok combined, it’s a delicate balance to maintain, but she’s determined to focus on herself and not let what people say — or assume — about her affect her peace of mind.

Of course, she says she wouldn’t be able to do any of this without her teammates, whom she calls family. Together, the team not only helps support each other on tough days, but they also inspire and motivate each other to give their all as they gear up to defend their NCAA championship title. “I think our mindset is just to get better every day and to continue to build each other up and grow together and continue to play great basketball.”