UConn's Azzi Fudd excited, gracious to be top pick in 2026 WNBA Draft

Former UConn guard Azzi Fudd (L), who was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, will earn a record-setting $500,000 rookie salary from the Dallas Wings. File Photo by Steve Nesius/UPI

April 14 (UPI) -- Former UConn star Azzi Fudd expressed excitement and gratitude after the Dallas Wings selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.

Fudd, the daughter of former Georgetown player Katie Smrcka-Duffy, earned the honor Monday in New York.

"I'm not really sure I have words to describe that feeling and what that meant," Fudd told reporters. "I don't think it's fully sunk in. I don't really have words. It is nothing I could have imagined.

The feeling sitting there with my family...hearing your name called, getting to walk up there. It's such a surreal feeling. I'm so grateful."

The All-American became the second consecutive Huskies player to be selected by the Wings with the No. 1 overall pick, joining girlfriend Paige Bueckers, who landed in Dallas last year. The Wings went 9-31, with the second-worst record in the WNBA, in 2024. They went 10-34 in 2025, which tied the Chicago Sky for the league's worst mark.

UConn guard Azzi Fudd (R) averaged 17.3 points per game last season. File Photo by Steve Nesius/UPI

Bueckers led the Wings with 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game. She also averaged 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per bout en route to Rookie of the Year and All-Star honors.

Fudd will join a lineup that includes Bueckers, fellow All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale, center Alanna Smith and forwards Myisha Hines-Allen and Maddy Siegrist.

UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) won a national title with the Huskies in 2024-25. File Photo by Darryl Webb/UPI

Ogunbowale, a four-time All-Star, joined the Wings as the No. 5 pick in 2019. Siegrist joined the Wings as the No. 3 overall pick in 2023.

Smith, an off-season free agent, signed a three-year deal with the Wings on Saturday. Guard/forward DiJonai Carrington, who was fifth in scoring last season for the Wings, signed with the Sky in free agency.

UCLA guard Gianna Kneepkens (8) and center Lauren Betts were selected in the first round of the 2026 WNBA Draft. File Photo by Darryl Webb/UPI

"They've been able to see, during my time at UConn, how I'm a team mentality, we-over-me kind of player," Fudd said of the Wings. "I'm going to do what the team needs and not anything less. So, they know what to expect from that aspect.

"But I know how to play with great players. I know how to space the floor. I know how to move without the ball. So, I'm just excited to go in to learn just the newness of the organization, the newness of the players, how to play off Arike, Maddy, every else on the team. I can't wait."

UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez (11) was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. File Photo by Darryl Webb/UPI

Fudd was the lone Huskies player selected in the first round.

UCLA watched five former Bruins be picked in the first round, starting with center Lauren Betts, who went to the Washington Mystics at No. 4. Former Bruins forward Gabriela Jaquez and guard Kiki Rice followed at Nos. 5 and 6, landed with the Sky and Toronto Tempo. respectively.

Former Bruins forward Angela Dugalic went to the Mystics at No. 9. The Connecticut Sun picked guard Gianna Kneepkens at No. 15.

South Carolina was the only other school with multiple players selected in the first round. Guard Raven Johnson went to the Indiana Fever at No. 10. Center Madina Okot landed with the Atlanta Dream at No. 13.

The Minnesota Lynx chose former TCU guard Olivia Miles with the No. 2 overall pick. Valencia Basket center Awa Fam Thiam went to the Seattle Storm at No. 3.

The Portland Fire picked Club Baloncesto Avenida guard Iyana Martin Carrion at No. 7. Former LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson went to the Golden State Valkyries at No. 8, but was later traded to the Seattle Storm.

The Mystics picked Ole Miss forward Cotie McMahon at No. 11. Basket Lattes Montpellier Association forward Nell Angloma joined the Sun at No. 12. The Storm picked Duke Guard Taina Mair at No. 14.

The Wings also picked up TCU forward Marta Suarez in the second round. They added Tennessee forward Zee Spearman in the third round.

Full draft results are available here.

Fudd will earn $500,000, the highest total for a rookie, during the 2026 season under the league's new collective bargaining agreement ratified last month. Miles and Thiam will earn $466,913 and $436,016, respectively.

Bueckers earned $78,831 as a rookie under the terms of the former bargaining agreement.

Fudd's Wings will face Caitlin Clark's Fever in a game that could feature the last three No. 1 overall WNBA Draft picks April 30 in Indianapolis. They will play the Fever again in their regular season opener May 9 on the same court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.