How Azzi Fudd’s Final Four Performance Impacts Her WNBA Draft Stock
The UConn Huskies women's basketball team suffered an upset 62-48 defeat to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on April 3.
While it's strange saying that a South Carolina victory qualified as an upset given their sustained dominance in the sport, UConn essentially looked unbeatable (and were undefeated) throughout the season heading into Saturday's game.
And superstar guard Azzi Fudd was a big reason for that. She has been one of the country's best players this year, and her game has continued to develop since UConn won the championship last year.
That being said, Fudd struggled in the Final Four. She finished with 8 points on 3 of 15 shooting from the field in the loss, and didn't have a single point in the first half. She wasn't a factor offensively for much of the game and couldn't hit the big shot when her team needed her the most.
South Carolina deserves a lot of credit for how they guarded Fudd (and the entire Huskies' roster). Still, there's no question that Fudd didn't perform well in the game, and actually had a tough NCAA Tournament overall.
Aside from UConn's second-round game, where she exploded for 34 points against Syracuse, Fudd never scored more than 13 points in a single game and had less than 10 points in two contests. She only had fewer than 10 points twice in the entire season before the NCAA Tournament, and both came in games where she played limited minutes because UConn was winning by so much (which was also the case in the first round against UTSA).
Does Azzi Fudd's Draft Stock Take a Hit After NCAA Tournament Struggles?
Many believe that the Dallas Wings will take Fudd with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. However, it's fair to ask whether they will be dissuaded from doing so after how Fudd performed in the NCAA Tournament.
But one can't diminish Fudd's entire career to this tournament. She played great for UConn in last year's tournament and scored 24 points in the championship game against the Gamecocks last year. She has performed consistently when the lights are brightest, and every player is due for a rough stretch every once in a while.
Azzi Fudd after her last game at UConn 🥺 pic.twitter.com/5tuuJ7sul0
— ESPN (@espn) April 4, 2026
NCAA Tournament struggles aside, Fudd has showed more than enough for the Wings to feel confident she's the right pick for them in the WNBA Draft. Now the question is whether they agree she's the right pick.
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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