Azzi Fudd goes No. 1
The Dallas Wings selected UConn guard Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, and ESPN reports she heads to the league with roughly a $500,000 rookie payday (espn.com). Minnesota used the No. 2 pick on Olivia Miles, and UCLA made draft history—producing five first‑round picks and six total selections in this draft ( ).
Azzi Fudd went first in the Women’s National Basketball Association draft on April 13, giving Dallas the top pick for a second straight year. (espn.com) Espn reported Fudd’s rookie deal is worth about $500,000 under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, a sharp jump from previous rookie scales. Dallas announced the pick Monday night in New York. (espn.com) (wings.wnba.com) Minnesota took Texas Christian University guard Olivia Miles at No. 2 after a season in which she averaged 19.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 38 starts. It was only the third time in franchise history that the Lynx drafted second overall. (lynx.wnba.com) (cbsnews.com) The draft also turned into a showcase for UCLA, which became the first school to place five players in the first round and six players overall in one Women’s National Basketball Association draft. Lauren Betts went No. 4, Gabriela Jaquez No. 5 and Kiki Rice No. 6 before Angela Dugalic and Gianna Kneepkens later made the first round. (espn.com) (uclabruins.com) That run came eight days after UCLA won its first National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s basketball title, giving the Bruins a championship-and-draft double in the span of a little more than a week. The program had entered the night with six first-round picks in its history since 1997. (abc7.com) (usatoday.com) For Dallas, Fudd’s arrival reunites her with Paige Bueckers, the former Connecticut teammate the Wings drafted No. 1 in 2025. The Wings said Fudd spent five seasons at Connecticut and was part of the Huskies’ 2025 national title team. (wings.wnba.com) (olympics.com) United States of America Today reported Fudd became the seventh Connecticut player to be drafted No. 1 in the league. That keeps one of the sport’s longest pipelines to the top of the draft in place for another year. (usatoday.com) The first round made clear how much the 2026 class was shaped by deep tournament runs: Connecticut and Texas Christian University supplied the top two picks, and UCLA flooded the board after its title season. By the end of Monday night, the draft had delivered both a new No. 1 face in Dallas and a record book reset in Westwood. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2)
