Azzi Fudd, Virginia native, selected No. 1 in WNBA draft

Virginia native Azzi Fudd was selected No. 1 in the WNBA draft, earning a $500,000 payday as the former UConn standout begins her professional career. "I'm not really sure I have words to describe that feeling, what that meant," Fudd said according to the Associated Press. "I don't think it's fully sunk in. It's nothing I could have imagined. The feeling of sitting with my family, with Morgan (Valley), hearing your name called, go up there. Such a surreal feeling." She will reunite in Dallas with former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers, last year’s top pick. "Paige is an incredible player, everyone knows that," Fudd said. "She's someone that makes playing basketball with easy." Fudd and her mother, Katie Smrcka-Duffy Fudd, also made league history as the second mother‑daughter duo ever drafted into the WNBA. Smrcka‑Duffy Fudd was selected in the fourth round by the Sacramento Monarchs in 2001. Fudd was born in Arlington, Va., attended St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., and played five seasons for the UConn Huskies from 2021 to 2026.