Geno Auriemma Shares Honest Azzi Fudd Feedback That Shaped UConn Return
One of the biggest stories heading into the 2025 NCAA women's basketball tournament was whether UConn Huskies star guard Azzi Fudd would be declaring for the 2025 WNBA Draft or returning for one final season of college.
When Fudd was asked what decision she was going to make when speaking with the media on March 21, she said, "I still haven't made that decision and will soon. I've talked to the coaches, talked to my family, and the decision is close."
Four days later, she posted a series of photos from her most recent season at UConn with the caption, "Hey Gampel, thanks for last night… See you next year🤗😝😏 #onemoreyear," thus confirming that she would be coming back to UConn and forgoing the WNBA Draft for another year.
This decision came as a surprise to many, given that Fudd likely would have been a top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, not to mention that her close teammate (and now girlfriend) Paige Bueckers would be talent her talents to the professional level.
Fast forward over seven months, and UConn won the 2025 NCAA national championship, Bueckers became the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft (and went on to excel in her rookie season), and Fudd is now gearing up for her final NCAA season.
Geno Auriemma and Azzi Fudd Speak on UConn Return Conversation
Fudd and her head coach, Geno Auriemma, did media on October 30. And both spoke about the conversation that had earlier this year, which ultimately convinced Fudd to return for one more season.
"I had a really great talk with coach about [the decision to return or declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft], and he said some stuff, and I was like, 'Wow,'" Fudd said, per an X post from Rebecca Lobo. "It was kind of just like, I've been here for four years... and he said, 'In your four years here, you've played five games where you really played to your full potential... And that's not enough.
"'You'd be doing yourself a disservice, whatever team in the W a disservice. They wouldn't really know the player they're really getting. You owe it to yourself of having a full season of playing Azzi Fudd basketball, and reaching your full potential at UConn.' And I agreed," Fudd added of the conversation.
We asked Azzi Fudd the biggest factor in deciding to return to UConn this season instead of declaring for the 2025 WNBA Draft. (From our interview 10/24/25.) pic.twitter.com/Ws8dzth147
— Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) October 31, 2025
Auriemma shared a similar sentiment when speaking about this fateful conversation with Fudd.
"I just gave her all the things that I thought were pertinent, and I left it up to her," Auriemma recalled about speaking to Fudd about her decision, per an X post from @thearkvi. "But I did say, 'I don't think you've played enough basketball to feel that confident going into the next level. I don't think they've seen you play enough basketball.
"'And I think this year coming up, staying healthy (knock on wood), they'll see the full picture of who you really are. And I think that will benefit you,'" he concluded.
Geno really nailed it here. Telling Azzi he didn’t feel she had played enough basketball to feel her most confident, but also that WNBA FOs had not seen her play enough basketball to get the full picture of who she is.
— j (@thearkvi) October 31, 2025
he is all in on her to clear up a lot of misconceptions. pic.twitter.com/0EyzYr2imL
UConn fans are looking forward to seeing how Fudd improves her draft stock in this upcoming season.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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