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UConn Star Azzi Fudd Stays in Connecticut, Forgoes 2025 WNBA Draft

Azzi Fudd smiles during UConn's first-round 2024/25 NCAA tournament game against Arkansas State.
Fudd will return to UConn for the 2025/26 NCAA season. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)

UConn guard Azzi Fudd is again delaying her WNBA aspirations to return to the Huskies for the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season, the 22-year-old announced in a social media post on Tuesday — just one day after the No. 2-seed squad booked their Sweet 16 spot in this year's March Madness tournament.

In an interview with ESPN, Fudd explained that her decision to declare for the 2026 WNBA Draft and exhaust her NCAA eligibility will allow her to "work on everything I need to work on" before turning pro.

Fudd also noted that her choice became clear after UConn head coach Geno Auriemma told her that while he supports whatever decision she makes, she has yet to max out at the collegiate level.

"He [told me], 'I would say 10 games, maybe, you've played to your full potential of who Azzi Fudd really is,'" Fudd recounts. "'You wouldn't do yourself justice leaving. You would leave here not doing what you could in a UConn uniform.' I was like, 'Yeah, he has a point.'"

Already a standout, Fudd chases greatness

Entering the NCAA as the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021, Fudd has been a highly-touted professional prospect for years, with the Husky originally expected to be chosen in the first round of next month's 2025 WNBA Draft.

However, Fudd's college career has been dampened by injury, with the talented shooter playing in just 72 games across her four years at UConn.

Making her competitive return in November after suffering an ACL and meniscus tear one year prior, Fudd hit her stride, earning a career-high 30 appearances for the Huskies this season — 26 of them as a starter.

A season-high 28-point performance in UConn's 87-58 February beatdown of defending national champs South Carolina further boosted Fudd's momentum, with the guard putting up a March Madness career-high 27 points in UConn's first-round victory over No. 15-seed Arkansas State on Saturday.

After adding another 17 points in the Huskies' second-round win over No. 10-seed South Dakota State on Monday, Fudd's 16.4 postseason points per game trails only iconic teammate Paige Bueckers' scoring rate on the UConn stat sheet.

It's those top-tier performances that Fudd will be chasing next season, hoping to add some lengthy consistency and confidence to her basketball resume.

"Having someone of Azzi's ability and the way she can just control a game, she just hasn't had an opportunity, at this point, to fully show who she is, what she can do, what impact she can have on our program and on college basketball," Auriemma told ESPN. "Can we get a full year out of that? I'm as excited as anybody, our fans, anybody to see what can happen."

Azzi Fudd dribbles up the court during a 2025 UConn basketball game.
Fudd's UConn return could reap big financial gains for the guard. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)

Delaying WNBA debuts could result in higher rookie salaries

Though Fudd is adamant that her decision to play one more year in college is purely based in on-court considerations, there are also other major financial implications at play.

With the WNBPA currently negotiating a new CBA set to begin in the 2026 WNBA season, rookies who enter under those new terms will likely begin their professional careers at a higher salary than the $78,831 that this April's No. 1 draft pick will earn.

Even Auriemma acknowledged the potential financial benefits Fudd would reap by staying in Storrs.

"If [Fudd] stays one more year, she'll make more money next year when she goes into the draft because they have a new collective bargaining agreement coming up that should pay them more money than if she goes at the end of this year," Auriemma told reporters earlier this month.

Even more, an extra year at the NCAA level will allow Fudd to grow her already flush NIL portfolio, which includes deals with brands like Bose, Chipotle, Buick, and DoorDash.

With the business side of basketball booming, top college players are recognizing the long-term impacts of kicking off their pro careers with stacked athletic and brand-building resumes — and Fudd just bought herself another year to raise her WNBA and financial stock.

Australia Coach Reveals Injury Setback for Matildas Star Sam Kerr

Australia striker Sam Kerr looks down at at 2025 Matildas training session.
Australia star Sam Kerr required a second surgery unrelated to her ACL injury. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Incoming Matildas boss Joe Montemurro revealed a new setback in the return of Australia captain Sam Kerr from injury on Monday, disclosing that the Chelsea striker has recently undergone an additional surgery unrelated to her January 2024 ACL tear.

"I think there were some complications," Montemurro told Australia's Channel 10 about the 31-year-old attacker's status this week. "There was a subsequent intervention, but I do believe she is now back running."

"It was something completely different [to the ACL injury]. I think the knee is fine," Montemurro continued.

Montemurro, who took the reins of the Matildas this week following a year-long stint leading European club titan OL Lyonnes, did not detail a specific timeline for Kerr's return.

However, the Australia captain is likely to miss the world No. 16 team's upcoming three summer friendlies against No. 38 Slovenia and No. 57 Panama.

That said, though Montemurro has yet to directly connect with Kerr, the Australia boss did state that "there's nothing to worry about, she's on track."

"By all reports, she's focused on getting back and she's focused on being back at her best, knowing that there's an exciting tournament coming up," the new Matildas manager said, referencing the 2026 Asian Cup.

"So with that attitude, I expect to see a fantastic Sam Kerr."

Gauff, Sabalenka, Boisson, and Świątek Headline 2025 French Open Semifinals

Coco Gauff celebrates her quarterfinal win over Madison Keys at the 2025 French Open.
World No. 2 Coco Gauff topped fellow US star No. 8 Madison Keys in their 2025 French Open quarterfinal. (Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)

This week's 2025 French Open quarterfinals set up the clay-court Grand Slam's semifinals, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka taking on three-time defending champ No. 5 Iga Świątek while No. 2 Coco Gauff faces wild card No. 361 Loïs Boisson on Thursday.

In Wednesday morning's highly anticipated all-American showdown, Gauff survived a tight 6-7(6) 6-4, 6-1 quarterfinal battle with fellow US star No. 8 Madison Keys to punch her semifinals ticket.

Shortly thereafter, Boisson's historic Cinderella run continued as the 22-year-old French up-and-comer took down heavy favorite No. 6 Mirra Andreeva in straight sets — after pulling off a huge Round of 16 upset of US star No. 3 Jessica Pegula on Monday.

Boisson — the youngest French semifinalist at any Grand Slam in 26 years and the first woman to make the penultimate round in her major tournament debut since 1990 — will leap to at least No. 68 in the next WTA rankings thanks to her Roland-Garros performance.

"I don't think it's a miracle," said Boisson of her unexpected Grand Slam debut. "It's just the result of hard work. Nothing else."

On the other side of the 2025 French Open bracket, both Sabalenka and Świątek cruised through their Tuesday quarterfinal matches to reach Thursday's semis, but their toughest match lies ahead.

Despite beating Sabalenka in five out of six previous meetings on clay, Świątek hasn't reached a major tournament final since her 2024 Roland-Garros win.

"I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win," said Sabalenka about her upcoming date with Świątek.

How to watch the 2025 French Open semifinals

Sabalenka and Świątek will kick off the 2025 French Open semifinals at 9 AM ET on Thursday, with Gauff and Boisson taking the court shortly after the first semi concludes.

Both matches will are live on TNT.

PWHL Teams Drop Protected Players Lists Ahead of 2025 Expansion Draft

Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight looks on during a 2025 PWHL game.
Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight was left unprotected ahead of the 2025 PWHL expansion draft. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The puck has officially dropped on the PWHL expansion process, with existing teams releasing protected players lists as incoming 2025/26 franchises Seattle and Vancouver begin to build rosters.

The teams' exclusive signing window opened Wednesday morning and runs through Sunday, with the 2025 Expansion Draft set for Monday evening.

Both Seattle and Vancouver can sign up to five players each from the league's unprotected and free agency pool this week.

Regardless of how many athletes the franchises choose to sign, the expansion process requires that the new teams grow their rosters to 12 total players by the end of Monday's draft, before completing their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the June 24th PWHL entry draft.

The six founding PWHL clubs could only list three protected players for this week's signing window and next week's expansion draft, forcing some difficult roster decisions.

The Boston Fleet did not opt to add captain Hilary Knight to the protected players list — despite the 35-year-old leading the league in scoring this season — with New York's Alex Carpenter and Toronto's Sarah Nurse also headlining the unprotected list.

With growth front-of-mind, the PWHL Players Association also announced that its members voted late last week to publicly disclose their salaries — a move expected to aid negotiations during this week's signing window.

"This will be a tool for players as they consider opportunities across the league," PWHLPA executive director Malaika Underwood told The Athletic.

All-Texas Bill Headlines 2025 WCWS Championship Series

Texas softball players celebrate sophomore left fielder Katie Stewart's fourth-inning home run against Tennessee in the 2025 WCWS semifinals.
The Texas Longhorns will face the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2025 WCWS best-of-three championship series starting on Wednesday. (BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK)

The Lone Star State is now ruling the 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS), with the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders taking the NCAA softball field for the national tournament's best-of-three championship series for the first time on Wednesday night.

No. 6-seed Texas reached the final round with a 2-0 semifinal win over SEC foe No. 7 Tennessee on Monday, while No. 12 Texas Tech denied defending champion Oklahoma a chance to extend their historic record, ending the No. 2 seed's hunt for a fifth straight NCAA title with a dramatic 3-2 semifinal ousting.

Pitching will take center stage throughout the championship series, as the regional rivals each boast a stellar ace in the circle in Texas Tech transfer junior and this season's National Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady and Texas star sophomore Teagan Kavan.

Texas packs experience against Cinderella Texas Tech

While both programs are searching for their first-ever national championship, the more experienced Longhorns have the edge entering this week's competition.

This year marks Texas's eighth overall trip to the WCWS and the Longhorns' third championship series appearance in the last four years, having fallen to Oklahoma in both 2022 and 2024.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech is still blazing trails through brand-new territory, adding a WCWS finals debut to an already-historic 2025 run that included the Red Raiders' first Super Regional appearance and win, and first-ever WCWS berth.

The Longhorns also own this season's head-to-head record over the Red Raiders, snagging two wins over Texas Tech in February.

However, while Kavan threw both those games, including an 11-0 run-rule victory, Canady only featured in one — a narrow 2-1 extra-inning Texas Tech loss in which the deciding run crossed on a throwing error.

Though the Red Raiders are technically the underdogs of this week's championship series, the likely pitchers' duel between Canady and Kavan means that the 2025 WCWS title is anyone's for the taking.

How to watch the 2025 WCWS championship series

The best-of-three 2025 WCWS championship series between Texas and Texas Tech starts on Wednesday, with Game 2 set for Thursday and, if necessary, a winner-take-all final tilt on deck for Friday.

All of the 2025 WCWS championship series clashes will begin at 8 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.

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