UConn guard Azzi Fudd wears many hats.
She’s a sharp-shooter on the court and a rising superstar off the court. She's an NCAA national champion and a top WNBA prospect. She's a graduate student at one of college basketball’s preeminent programs. And she's already one of the most famous athletes in the women’s game.
But this week she adds a new title to her growing resume: co-host of Instagram’s latest episode of Close Friends Only along with Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers.
The podcast features Fudd chopping it up with Bueckers. The former UConn teammates chat about their immediate connection on and off the court, swapped style influences (Fudd is apparently a chronic clothes-stealer and listens to all of Bueckers’s Spotify playlists), who’s got the prettiest jump shot, and their favorite WNBA player. (“Probably Paige Bueckers,” Fudd answers readily.)
The two also discuss Meta Quest VR’s newest WNBA collaboration, a technology which gives fans a courtside view without having to leave the house.
“I was honestly shocked by how real it felt,” Fudd told Just Women’s Sports earlier this week. “Sometimes getting to a game is just unrealistic, so being able to have that as an option is incredible, and can open the game up to so many more people and fans.”
Azzi Fudd steps into the social media spotlight
Emerging from a college career previously defined by injury, Fudd and her UConn teammates finally reached their peak last April, winning the program’s 12th national championship — and its first since 2016. And while the victory checked a longtime bucket list item for the guard, she’s most grateful for her health.
“This has been my first offseason in a little while where I've been completely healthy,” she continued. “So that's been a fun change, getting to be healthy, work on some stuff, travel, relax with family — it's been great.”
Through it all, she’s certainly kept busy. If you’ve been following women’s basketball at all this summer, Fudd has been hard to miss. After the NCAA season ended, she made a high profile appearance accompanying No. 1 pick Bueckers to the 2025 WNBA Draft, going on to become a sidelines mainstay at Dallas games. She also made a splash at All-Star Weekend, and even started her own podcast, Fudd Around and Find Out.
The life of a burgeoning celebrity can be isolating, but Fudd represents a new generation of players ready to utilize social media to their advantage, both professionally and personally. There’s a light, lived-in touch to Fudd and her peers’ ability to connect with friends and family via social media channels while also maneuvering the booming cult of personality forming around the WNBA.
Fudd and Bueckers compare social media habits on 'Close Friends Only'
On Close Friends Only, Fudd and Bueckers banter about the benefits (and necessary etiquette) of labeling an Instagram story “close friends,” as well as their own social media habits.
“You post 10 times in the time it takes me to get one post up,” Fudd tells Bueckers, with her co-host copping to being the heavier Instagram user of the pair.
But beyond sharing with close friends, today’s women’s sports athletes are navigating an industry where follower counts can open sponsorship doors. And that’s clear whether players are promoting multi-million dollar brand deals or partying on a 72-hour All-Star Weekend livestream.
“I’m not the best poster,” Fudd admitted. “I do want to make my Instagram a little more casual. [There are] some great pictures in my camera roll that aren’t professional photographer-taken, done up like some Instagrams look.”
“I want it to be very much who Azzi Fudd is, and not just the great side,” she said of her online presence, describing herself as a lowkey person who wants to intuitively let people in on the real highs and lows of life.
But for someone who also calls herself a bad texter, Fudd’s grounded approach to social media does help her keep up with connections despite her packed calendar.
“I love talking on the phone, but who does that these days?” she laughed. “Being able to keep in touch, whether it's a teammate you played with a year ago or from middle school, just getting to get those updates through Instagram is amazing.”
From hard-launching Pazzi to special shared moments
Social media can be a powerful career builder, but young stars also have to figure out how to protect their peace amidst a firestorm of commentary, access, and speculation.
Fudd is no stranger to the dynamics of keeping private moments private while still finding ways to live their public lives authentically. She and Bueckers have threaded that needle with precision, with Bueckers only recently calling Fudd her girlfriend during July’s WNBA All-Star Weekend after months of soft-launch hints.
“I'm definitely someone who tends to keep more private,” Fudd said, noting that the impulse to document everything on social media can take away from staying present. “I don't mind sharing, but just naturally I'm more of a ‘share less’ person.”
Despite her inclinations, the duo has remained a remarkably open book. Fudd and Bueckers are easygoing about the fandom they’ve inspired, from laughing about watching their own fan edits on TikTok to sharing selfies containing clues about their relationship. As Fudd told JWS, she doesn’t think so much about the public’s response — she just enjoys capturing the little things.
“There’s so many special moments, whether you're sharing for other people or just for yourself,” she explained. “Your favorite meal, or your favorite sunset — things that make me happy and I get excited about.”
Azzi locks in ahead of final UConn season
Fudd is approaching her final college season, preparing to step up as UConn pushes for a repeat title. But if the 22-year-old is feeling pressure to stretch herself too thin these days, she isn’t letting it show.
She’s been in the gym, staying healthy and gearing up to take on an even larger role at UConn now that former on-court centerpiece Bueckers has flown the college coop.
She’s focusing on a routine social media followers don’t often get to see: rehab and recovery, eating and sleeping right, getting shots up, and hitting the weight room.
“I'm keeping the main thing basketball,” she said. “Without basketball, without putting in the time in the gym, making sure I’m getting my stuff done, I wouldn’t have all these opportunities.”
“I’m always taking care of [basketball] first,” she continues. “And then getting to enjoy all those things that come with it.”
And she won’t be alone when she heads back to Storrs this fall. The Huskies are returning a number of key national title run contributors, this time taking the court with Fudd leading the way from day one.
“Embracing that vocal leadership role is something I'm working on,” she said “Doing anything and everything I can to make sure that I'm helping my team, putting them in the best position to win and have a great season.”
As for social media, fans can be sure that wherever the season takes Fudd, they’ll be along for the ride.
