Senior Azzi Fudd and sophomore Sarah Strong of No. 1 UConn headline the women’s Wooden Award late midseason top 20 list, which was announced Tuesday night.
The award is given annually to the best college basketball player in the country.
LSU leads the way with three players on the list — MiLaysia Fulwiley, Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams. Oklahoma (Raegan Beers and Aaliyah Chavez), South Carolina (Joyce Edwards and Ta’Niya Latson) and Texas (Madison Booker and Rori Harmon) join UConn with two players on the list.
The top three scorers in the nation also feature in the list: Iowa State’s Audi Crooks (25.9 PPG), Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes (25.9 PPG) and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo (24.9 PPG).
Strong, considered the front-runner for national player of the year honors this season, is scoring 19.2 points and grabbing 8.0 rebounds per game. She’s also averaging 4.3 assists and 3.2 steals per game and leads the Huskies in nearly every offensive category, shooting 60.1% from the field.
Fudd is averaging 17.4 points and shooting 44.8% on 3-pointers for the defending national champion Huskies, who remain undefeated and atop the Big East Conference with a 25-0 overall record and 14-0 mark in league play.
Fudd is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA draft in ESPN’s latest mock draft.
A look at the complete list of candidates:
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Madison Booker, Texas
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Azzi Fudd, UConn
MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
Rori Harmon, Texas
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina
Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss
Olivia Miles, TCU
Olivia Olson, Michigan
Clara Strack, Kentucky
Sarah Strong, UConn
Mikaylah Williams, LSU
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