Huskies Land Fudd, the Top-Ranked Recruit
The Story: Prepare for winning — lots and lots of winning — in Storrs. (Maybe even more so than normal.) The women’s basketball team landed the No. 1-ranked recruit in the Class of 2021 yesterday, with Azzi Fudd, from Washington, committing to and signing with the Huskies.
WHO IS FUDD? A once-in-a-lifetime type of player, Fudd is a 5-foot-11 guard from St. John’s College High School who picked up her first scholarship offer, from Maryland, when she was 12. (Imagine recruiting a player for six years and not landing her? Yikes.) Her parents were also college basketball players, and when she was named the Gatorade National Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year in 2019, she was the first sophomore to win it.
WHAT DID FUDD SAY? “I know I want to be somewhere that I’m going to be proud where I am the next four years and also look back and be happy with the decision and know I made the best decision for myself,” Fudd said, announcing her decision on her 18th birthday. “I can’t wait to play for Coach Auriemma and all the other coaches. The girls there are amazing. I’m really excited to play with some of my best friends for three and four years. I don’t know, I have a feeling we have multiple national championships in our future.”
TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: Remember when everyone said Geno Auriemma could no longer recruit? UConn has now landed four of the last five players ranked No. 1 in their class (Fudd, Paige Bueckers, Christyn Williams and Megan Walker) and now 13 in the last 22 years, a list that also includes Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. And don’t look now, but Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 center from Colorado who is the No. 1-ranked player in the Class of 2022, narrowed her list in August and it included UConn.
A STRONG SUPPORTING CAST: The Huskies signed three other players yesterday and, shocker, they’re all ranked in the top 30 by ESPN. Caroline Ducharme is the No. 5-ranked player, a 6-foot-2 guard from Milton, Mass. Amari DeBerry, the No. 15 player, is a 6-foot-5 forward from Williamsville, N.Y. And Saylor Poffenbarger, a 6-foot-2 guard from Middletown, Md., is the No. 30 player in the class. That’s how you do it.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Championships. Pure and simple. Look, the Huskies, ranked No. 3 in the AP preseason poll on Tuesday, have Bueckers, who is also considered a generational talent, and a supporting cast that makes UConn one of the best teams in the country. When you add Fudd and her classmates, the future only gets brighter. Now, the Huskies do have a ton of guards beginning next season, so that could be a concern, but they also have the depth to withstand a transfer. And, with expectations so high in the coming years, we think it seems unlikely that Geno, who is 66, is walking away anytime soon.
Morning Reads
STARS SHINING: The experts consider James Bouknight and R.J. Cole as two of the best college players in the country. (CBS Sports)
PEART SETTLING IN: Even though he was a third-round pick in April, Matt Peart has been carving out a regular role with the Giants as a rookie. (Associated Press)
