Azzi Fudd’s journey at UConn was anything but straightforward. Her talent and performance were never in question, but recurring injuries threatened to rob the former Huskies star of the chance to leave her mark on the program. She refused to let those setbacks define her career. Now, after a college career that culminated in her entering the WNBA as the No. 1 draft pick, she is set to be officially inducted into UConn’s prestigious Huskies of Honor.
Ahead of the induction, head coach Geno Auriemma reflected on how close things came to turning out differently, opening up about the difficult moments that once made him fear Fudd might never reach this point.
“There was a point in time where I thought that could never happen,” Auriemma said in the pregame interview ahead of UConn’s matchup with Iowa, as shared on the UConn Daily YouTube channel. “I thought she might never play a full season here. And, you know, there’s some kids that get injured. They get it fixed, and then you don’t have to worry about anything. Then there are other kids that weird things happen to them over and over again, and they’re out, and you just keep saying to yourself, why her? Why her all the time?”
Fudd’s time at UConn was indeed a masterclass in resilience, with her immense talent constantly disrupted by severe physical setbacks. In her first year, after arriving as the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, a right foot stress injury cost her 11 games early in the winter. She returned in late January, found her rhythm, and helped guide UConn to the 2022 National Championship game, where the Huskies fell to South Carolina.
Her sophomore season brought a longer spell on the sideline. During a December game against Notre Dame, Fudd suffered a severe knee injury when a teammate accidentally fell into her right leg, sidelining her for eight games. And just six games after her highly anticipated return, she re-injured the same right knee and then sat out another 14 games. In total, she missed 22 games that season, returning only in time for the postseason.
Her junior year was the cruelest of all. Just a week into the season, in a routine practice in November 2023, Fudd went up for a jumper and felt something “funny” upon landing. Medical testing later confirmed every athlete’s worst nightmare: a torn ACL and a medial meniscus tear in her right knee. She subsequently underwent major reconstructive surgery and spent more than a full calendar year undergoing extensive rehabilitation.
Reflecting on how those repeated setbacks could have changed the course of Fudd’s career, Auriemma highlighted the determination that kept his former player pushing towards a return.
“So I think there’s a lot of things that happened to her that could have derailed the whole thing, but she’s a tough kid,” he said. “She’s been dealing with this since high school, you know, she had to do it in high school too. And I’m really happy for it, really proud of her. It took a lot of determination, and I want to be back. I want to be back. And so she’s back.”
And indeed, Fudd had already experienced a devastating knee injury during her high school years, suffering simultaneous tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her right knee. But despite that major setback, she still arrived at UConn as the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit.
In the same vein, despite the brutal run of injuries that cost her dozens of games and nearly derailed her college career, Fudd went on to have one of the most decorated and resilient careers in UConn history. While her early seasons were defined by what-ifs, she eventually rewrote her narrative by helping anchor the Huskies to the 2025 National Championship, winning the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award and earning consensus First-Team All-American honors in 2026.
And she also left an undeniable mark on the UConn record books. Over five seasons in Storrs and 115 games played, she accumulated 1,687 points, ranking No. 21 in program history, and 292 three-pointers, ranking No. 5. Alongside that, she recorded 270 rebounds, 241 assists, and 191 steals. Those numbers, among other records and accolades, cemented her place in the rafters at Gampel Pavilion alongside the program’s all-time legends.
That recognition will become official on Sunday ahead of the No. 2 Huskies’ high-profile matchup against No. 10 Iowa. Fudd’s No. 35 jersey will be unveiled in the rafters. This will make Azzi Fudd the 25th player in program history to receive the prestigious “Huskies of Honor” recognition.
What It Takes to Join UConn’s Prestigious Huskies of Honor, and How Azzi Fudd Qualified
Not every player who wears a UConn jersey gets to have her name immortalized in the rafters of Gampel Pavilion. Because earning a place in the Huskies of Honor takes more than impressive numbers on the court.
To earn a spot in the prestigious UConn Huskies of Honor program, a women’s basketball player must meet a strict, two-part standard. And Azzi Fudd did not just meet these requirements; she exceeded them.
First, a player must earn a bachelor’s degree. Fudd departed Storrs as a two-time UConn graduate. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Communication in May 2024 and, using her remaining athletic eligibility, stayed to earn a Master of Business Administration in May 2026. She even underscored her academic excellence by being the 2026 Women’s Basketball Academic All-American of the Year.
Second, a player must earn consensus First-Team All-American honors from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Fudd locked that down in her healthy, dominant fifth year.
In a stellar senior campaign, she averaged a career-high 17.3 points per game and led the country with 117 three-pointers, earning consensus 2026 First-Team All-American status. Her selection swept across all the major panels, including the WBCA, the Associated Press, and the United States Basketball Writers Association.
Now, deservedly, she will watch her jersey go up alongside a list of UConn legends including Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, and Paige Bueckers, her close friend and current WNBA teammate.