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UConn guard Azzi Fudd announced Tuesday that she will return for her final season of eligibility and forgo next month’s WNBA draft.

A likely first-round pick, Fudd told ESPN that one more season in Storrs will help her “work on everything I need to work on” to reach the next level.

The 5-foot-11 graduate student has averaged 13.4 points in 30 games this season for the Huskies (33-3), who are in the Sweet 16 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

Fudd had 27 points, seven assists and six steals in No. 2 seed UConn’s 103-34 first-round rout of Arkansas State and added 17 points in Monday’s 91-57 win against San Diego State. Up next is No. 3 seed Oklahoma (27-7) on Saturday in Spokane, Wash.

Fudd joined coach Geno Auriemma’s program as the nation’s No. 1 recruit in 2021. Injuries, including a torn ACL in November 2023, have limited her to 72 games across four seasons.

“Having someone of Azzi’s ability and the way she can just control a game, she just hasn’t had an opportunity, at this point, to fully show who she is, what she can do, what impact she can have on our program and on college basketball,” Auriemma told ESPN. “So hopefully being here another year, having an injury-free year, knock on wood, can remind everybody this is the Azzi Fudd that was coming out of high school, and can we get a full year out of that? I’m as excited as anybody, our fans, anybody to see what can happen.”

UConn will be relying on Fudd’s experience next season following the departure of current star Paige Bueckers, the likely No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft on April 14.

“Paige is going to be gone, so I can’t rely on her to speak and do all that (leadership) stuff, on and off the court,” Fudd said. “I will have to be in that position.”

Fudd told ESPN her goals for 2025-26 include making the All-America team and winning a national championship.

“There’s no more, ‘Oh, next year,'” Fudd said. “Next year is the year, well this year first, but next year, I want to get all these things done, and I want to make sure that him and all the other coaches, even my teammates, are on my back, making sure that I’m being held accountable for everything.”

Fudd has averaged 13.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 72 career games (55 starts). She led the Big East in 3-point shooting (45.3 percent) this season, raising her career mark to 41.2 percent from beyond the arc.

–Field Level Media