By J.J. Pavlick |3/8/2026 | Los Angeles, CA

The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced that UConn stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong earned spots on the 15‑player 2026 Wooden Award National Ballot. The honor places both Huskies among the top players in the country.

Wooden Award National Ballot Overview

The National Advisory Board selected 15 athletes for the ballot. These players now compete for Wooden Award All‑America honors and the Wooden Award Trophy, given to the nation’s top women’s college basketball player.

Fudd and Strong helped lead UConn to a 32–0 record and the BIG EAST regular‑season title after last year’s NCAA Championship run.

Azzi Fudd’s Case

Fudd posted a career‑best 17.7 points per game with elite shooting splits (.483/.441/.950). She also set new personal highs in rebounds (83), assists (95), and steals (79).

She ranks second nationally in made threes (98) and ninth in three‑point percentage (44.1). Against top‑25 teams, she averages 14.4 points with a .500/.468/1.000 split.

Fudd is also a finalist for the AAU Sullivan Award and appears on the Naismith Trophy Late‑Season Team and the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award list.

Sarah Strong’s Dominance

Strong swept BIG EAST honors: Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, All‑BIG EAST First Team, and All‑Defensive Team.

She averages 18.3 points per game with a .594/.405/.881 split, and she has scored in double figures in 45 straight games and leads UConn in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals. She is the first Husky with 100 steals in a season since Gabby Williams in 2016–17.

Nationally, Strong ranks seventh in steals (103), 19th in assist‑turnover ratio (2.37), and 12th in field‑goal percentage (59.4). She also leads the nation in win shares (10.3), defensive win shares (4.8), offensive rating (133.2), defensive rating (65.3), and player efficiency (45.8).

She appears on the Naismith Trophy Late‑Season Team, the Katrina McClain Award top‑10 list, and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year list.

Award Timeline and UConn Legacy

The Wooden Award All‑America Teams and the Top Five finalists will be announced on April 4 during the Men’s Final Four. The Wooden Award presentation takes place on April 10.

Four Huskies have won the award six times: Maya Moore (2009, 2011), Tina Charles (2010), Breanna Stewart (2015, 2016), and Paige Bueckers (2021).

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