Azzi Fudd was selected by the Dallas Wings as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft on Monday night. A star player at the University of Connecticut, Fudd is the seventh player from the university to be picked No. 1 alongside Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers, according to USA Today.

Azzi Fudd joins the Dallas Wings as the No. 1 overall pick

Fudd expressed her disbelief after receiving the news of her selection.

“I’m not really sure I have words to describe that feeling,” she said after her name was called, according to CBS Sports. “Yeah, I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t think it was fully sunk in.”

Fudd helped UConn win 54 straight games the last two seasons, including the 2025 national championship. She was named Most Outstanding Player and was a finalist for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. Fudd averaged 14.7 points at UConn, according to USA Today. This season, she averaged 17.3 points and 3.1 assists per game. 

“I think the biggest takeaway was how incredible my five years have been,” Fudd said about her experience at UConn, per USA Today. “Being able to learn from that, being able to take all those experiences — the wins, the losses, the hard practices, the everything, the good, the bad — you can grow from that.”

“All those habits, that championship, that winning mentality, I have to be able to bring those with me,” she added.

Curt Miller, the Dallas Wings’ general manager, highlighted Fudd’s game and how she is expected to be a good addition to the team.

“The skills on the court start with her offensive game and her elite shooting ability, her lightning-quick release, her movement when she’s off the ball is truly, truly special,” he said, according to CBS Sports. “Defensively, she competes, she’s intelligent, she’s got great basketball IQ. And then the intangibles, which were ultimately the deciding factor for us, is she’s a unifier in the locker room, a great teammate, and has all the characteristics that we’re trying to accumulate in that locker room.”

Coach Jose Fernandez said he immediately went to see Fudd play after being hired in October.

“We never wavered on what we needed. She was a right fit for this team,” he said. “She was the right fit for the locker room, and she brings what this team needed in regards to spacing, her quick release or 3-point shooting, and she’s coming from a program that is great in the locker room, and they know how to win, and that’s what we want here in Dallas.”

Azzi Fudd will be joining her former UConn teammate and now girlfriend Paige Bueckers at the Dallas Wings

Paige Bueckers played with Fudd at UConn before being drafted by the Dallas Wings as the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. Last summer, Bueckers also confirmed that they were dating.

“I’m excited to play again with Paige (Bueckers). I mean she’s an incredible person, incredible player and it’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Fudd told ESPN via USA Today after being drafted.

“Everybody knows that she’s someone that makes playing basketball with easy, and so I think just the prior experience knowing how to play with her, play off of her will only help going to this,” she also noted.

Fudd said there are several things she is looking forward to as she kicks off her professional basketball career.

“I feel like I can’t pinpoint one thing,” she said, per USA Today. “There’s endless opportunity in front of me, whatever happens next, wherever I end up. I’m just excited to be in a new city, to learn from the players around me, to get to play with these incredible players, to learn from the coach. I’m excited for everything.”