Azzi Fudd goes No. 1

Azzi Fudd went first in the 2026 Women’s National Basketball Association draft, giving the Dallas Wings the top pick for the second straight year. (wnba.com) The Wings made the selection on Monday, April 13, at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York, after winning the 2026 draft lottery in November. (wnba.com) Fudd is a 5-foot-11 guard from the University of Connecticut who spent five seasons in Storrs and helped the Huskies win the 2025 National Collegiate Athletic Association title. Dallas general manager Curt Miller said she is “one of the best shooters in our game today.” (wings.wnba.com) Her final college season was her most productive: 39 starts, 17.3 points per game, 117 made three-pointers, and 95.5 percent shooting at the free-throw line. University of Connecticut’s season stats list her at 44.7 percent from three-point range. (uconnhuskies.com) The pick keeps a University of Connecticut run going at the top of the draft. Dallas took Paige Bueckers first overall in 2025, and United States Today reported that Fudd became the seventh Huskies player to go No. 1 in league history. (wings.wnba.com) (usatoday.com) That also means a reunion in Dallas. Fudd now joins Bueckers on a Wings roster built around back-to-back No. 1 picks from the same college program. (wings.wnba.com 1) (wings.wnba.com 2) The rest of the first round filled in quickly behind her: Olivia Miles went No. 2 to the Minnesota Lynx, Awa Fam Thiam went No. 3 to the Seattle Storm, and Lauren Betts went No. 4 to the Washington Mystics. (wnba.com) The draft ran three rounds and 45 picks in all, with the league’s draft board also showing expansion-era movement across the board, including first-round selections by the Toronto Tempo, Portland Fire, and Golden State Valkyries. (wnba.com 1) (wnba.com 2) For Dallas, the night ended where it started: with another University of Connecticut guard at No. 1, and another roster move centered on shooting and backcourt play. (wings.wnba.com)