With Paige Bueckers defending the Dallas Wings in the WNBA, the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team will now pivot to Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong to lead the way. They are entering this season as the defending champions, but with Bueckers out of the picture, they’ll need renovated leadership to go back-to-back.
Fudd, who enters her final season, was the natural option to take the torch from Bueckers. Strong, a couple of years younger, is expected to take over once the guard goes to the pros. But first, they will have to lead the team to challenge for another title, and Geno Auriemma is excited about this tandem.
After beating the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2025 national championship game, the Huskies will face new challenges. Auriemma knows he has two big stars who won’t hesitate to take them on and sent a message to opponents ahead of the new season.
Geno Auriemma warns opponents about Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong
On Monday, during his golf tournament, Auriemma told reporters that Fudd and Strong are looking just fine ahead of the new campaign.
“I gotta tell ya, I’ve never seen Azzi this aggressive, this engaged in wanting to do a lot,” Auriemma said about Fudd, before addressing Strong. “That’s probably stood out more than anything. Remember the way Sarah was in that last game, she’s way better. So those two things really stood out these last two weeks.”
The Huskies are the most successful team in women’s college basketball, and they don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.