In partnership with
Photo: Ian Bethune
UConn superstars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong both earned First Team All-American honors, making the USBWA’s list on Tuesday before landing on the Associated Press’s squad on Wednesday.
Strong made the AP’s Second Team and the USBWA’s Third Team last season. These are the first All-American nods of Fudd’s career. She still needs to be named a WBCA All-American to be inducted into the Huskies of Honor, though that should be little more than a formality at this point.
Collectively, the duo has led the Huskies to a 34-0 record and No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Fudd is in the midst of her best season in Storrs, averaging 17.7 points, shooting 48.9 percent overall and 44.6 from three, along with 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.6 rebounds — all of which are career-highs.
She is also up for the AAU Sullivan and Ann Meyers Drysdale Awards, while also landing on the Naismith Trophy Late-Season Team and the Wooden Award Ballot. Fudd has already earned Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, All-Big East First Team and Big East All-Tournament Team honors.
Meanwhile, Strong is the frontrunner for National Player of the Year amid a dominant sophomore season. She leads the Huskies with 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks while also putting up 4.1 assists while owning a .601/42.7/87.3 shooting split.
Strong is the first UConn player to hit 100 steals since Gabby Williams in 2016-17, ranking sixth nationally with 111. She also leads the country in win shares (11.0), defensive win shares (4.8), offensive rating (134.1), defensive rating (65.3) and player efficiency (46.8).
This season, Strong has already claimed a laundry list of accolades: Big East Player of the Year, Big East Defensive Player of the Year, All Big East First Team and Defensive Team and Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She’s a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award and is also on the Naismith Trophy and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Late-Season Teams as well as the Wooden Award National Ballot.
Fudd is the 29th Husky to be named an All-American in program history and the 27th to earn First Team honors. Strong is UConn’s 18th two-time First Team All-American.
Every headline satisfies an opinion. Except ours.
Remember when the news was about what happened, not how to feel about it? 1440's Daily Digest is bringing that back. Every morning, they sift through 100+ sources to deliver a concise, unbiased briefing — no pundits, no paywalls, no politics. Just the facts, all in five minutes. For free.
