No one knew it at the time, but it was a simple 3-point contest that may have been the first sign of greatness to come for Azzi Fudd and Alex Karaban.
The first time the UConn stars took the court together, as teammates to compete in the 3-point contest during the programs’ First Night event in 2022, they felt completely confident in victory before either ever touched a ball.
On the threshold of their first season together as Huskies – Fudd as a sophomore, Karaban a redshirt freshman – the pair combined to hit 18 of 24 shots, securing a win for the white team. When they participated together again in 2023, the reigning champions came in even more nonchalant, and secured back-to-back titles with another 18-for-24 performance.
“It was electric,” Fudd recalled. “We knew no one was going to beat us. We were locked in. We were like, ‘We can’t lose this, we’ve got to lock in,’ and that’s exactly what we did. (The second one) wasn’t as much; we weren’t like ‘Oh, we got it.’ It was more chill, and that’s just what happened.”
Born just hours apart on Nov. 11, 2002, Fudd in Fairfax, Va., and Karaban in Framingham, Mass., they arrived at UConn with the same goal: Win national titles. They’ve each witnessed the amount of work the other puts in behind the scenes, their bond forged in weight rooms and contrast tubs within the confines of the Huskies’ shared practice facility. Though they’ve walked dramatically different paths, they’ve both made those championship dreams a reality five years later.
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“It’s a super cool place where you get to have that relationship and spend time with them and talk (when) we’re both going through it with the ups and down of the season,” Fudd said. “To see how much Alex has grown over these last few years has been insane. To see him in this role he’s in, this leadership role, to see how important he is and see him be put in the Huskies of Honor, it’s really cool.”
“I think the First Night stuff helped us get close, and having the same birthday is actually super cool, too,” Karaban said. “If I see Azzi, I always talk to her, say what’s up, joke around with her. I have so much respect for Azzi and just everything she’s been through as a player, how great of a player she is, how hard she works.”
College sports may never see another duo across men’s and women’s basketball programs that measures up to this one. It seems like they have been in Storrs forever, and in the context of today’s college athletics, they have been.
They came in before NIL and yearly use of the transfer portal became rampant, navigating the traditional college route in a landscape that has become everything but traditional. Winning helps – Fudd and Karaban have combined to be a part of three national championships, 190 wins and only 48 losses. They’ve both scored more than 1,600 points and made more than 280 3-pointers, helping add to the trophy cases that sit symmetrically inside the Werth Center.
Karaban already has his name on the wall in the Huskies of Honor across the street at Gampel Pavilion; Fudd’s figures to be coming soon.
But the journey isn’t done yet, and both are ready to take the next step Friday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Fudd and the top-seeded women have a 5 p.m. meeting with North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas. Karaban and the No. 2 seed men meet Michigan State around 10 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
The careers of Fudd and Karaban have intertwined with shared plotlines, and as they compete in their final NCAA tournaments, you can bet they will do everything they can to write the perfect endings to their stories.
Arrival in Storrs
Azzi: A star of a different kind
Star players seem to be always plentiful on the UConn women’s roster, but Fudd arrived as one of the most anticipated prospects ever, touted as a prodigy by everyone from Huskies coach Geno Auriemma to two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry. Fudd was the No. 1 recruit in the 2021 class, giving the Huskies back-to-back top-ranked signees after Paige Bueckers joined the program in 2020.
Fudd received her first Division I scholarship offer from Maryland in sixth grade and lived up to the hype during high school. She became the first sophomore ever to win Gatorade Player of the Year in 2019, and she was the youngest selected to compete for Team USA at the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and the 2018 U17 World Cup. She was the first girl ever invited to participate in Curry’s famous SC30 Select Camp, which provides an opportunity for the best high school prospects in the country to train with Curry and his team. Fudd beat out several top men’s basketball recruits to win the camp’s 3-point contest.
“I think she has more of a textbook jumper than anyone I’ve seen,” Curry told ESPN after Fudd committed to UConn. “Maybe Klay Thompson and Azzi Fudd. … You go Ray Allen, Klay Thompson, and Azzi Fudd, textbook. You would teach somebody how to shoot with their form.”
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But the latter part of Fudd’s high school career foreshadowed some of the challenges that would impact her once she got to Storrs. While competing in the U18 3-on-3 national championships in April 2019, she tore the ACL and MCL in her right knee and was sidelined for the entirety of what would have been her junior season. Her senior season, 2020-21, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and though her high school team picked up exhibition games here and there to keep players active, Fudd went two full years without competing at the level to which she was accustomed.
UConn was supposed to give her a fresh start, a chance to rediscover the player she’d been before the injury.
Alex: The right player at right time
When the UConn men lost in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, one of the solutions to their problems was sitting right there in Buffalo, on the bench in street clothes.
Dan Hurley had built his career with defense as a foundation. But there sat a redshirt freshman who would help revolutionize his offensive philosophy.
UConn needed an offensive-minded four-man. And Karaban, a 6-foot-8, four-star recruit ranked outside of the top 100 in his class, could shoot the ball, pass it and make cuts to the basket like a guard. It helped that he could also rebound like a big and read the game like a coach. His work ethic made it no question that the defense would come along later and he’d fit the system like a glove.
When he arrived a semester early, midway through the 2021-22 season, Karaban was shy and lanky – Hurley said he was socially awkward, weird, and remembered thinking he might “(bleep) his pants when he got on the court.”
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Karaban was worried about being good enough to even get on the court. But he’d been with the team for practices and on the bench for games, so he was ready to compete for a starting spot in the summer before the 2022-23 season. After Samson Johnson essentially ended his season with a foot injury in the opener, Karaban never came off the bench again.
“Whenever things seem to bog down for us in any kind of motion set, he always seems to get the ball to the other side of the court, make the proper pass, make the proper cut, to get us back going again,” said assistant coach-turned general manager, Tom Moore. “You never really know that it’s gonna be two national championships and then whatever, but we had a feeling that he was going to be really good for us.”
Today, no one has played in, started, or won more games as a UConn men’s basketball player than Karaban.
Putting off the pros
Azzi: There would be no “what ifs”
The first three years of Fudd’s college career were ravaged by injuries, and she’d missed as many games as she appeared in prior to the 2024-25 season.
It all began with a foot injury early in her freshman year that sidelined her for 11 games, and she missed 22 the following season due to a right knee injury. Then, just two games into the 2023-24 season, Fudd tore her left ACL and medial meniscus during practice and was ruled out for the rest of the year. She made her long-awaited return to the court in November 2024, but didn’t truly hit her stride until the postseason when she helped lead the Huskies to the 2025 national championship earning Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
Fudd was eligible to declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft and likely would have been a first-round pick given her pedigree. But she decided to return to UConn this season after a conversation with coach Geno Auriemma following the 2025 Big East Tournament. The Huskies’ coach told her frankly that he believed she’d only played 10 games in her college career where she lived up to her full potential. If she left, her time as at UConn would end on a ‘what if,’ and she’d never get to find out how much higher her ceiling could be.
It’s apparent in Fudd’s numbers this year that Auriemma’s assessment was spot on. In her redshirt senior season, Fudd is averaging career highs in points (17.8), assists (3) and steals (2.5), and she is also shooting career bests at every level: 49.5% from the field, 45.4% from 3-point range and 95.1% at the free-throw line. Fudd has also taken a massive leap as a defender, currently ranking fourth in the country in defensive win shares and sixth in defensive rating. She has been named a first-team All-American by both the AP and USBWA, the first national honors of her career.
“I definitely made the right decision, and this year has been honestly the most fun I’ve had,” Fudd said. “Just from every perspective, point of view, area of my life, I’ve grown a lot.”
Fudd has also proven that she is physically prepared for the next level, answering the biggest question WNBA teams may have had about her. Fudd has started all 36 games in 2025-26 averaging more than 28 minutes without so much as an injury scare. She’s gone from a probable first rounder to a guaranteed lottery pick with a legitimate chance to go No. 1 overall in the upcoming WNBA Draft.
“I think everybody knows this is who Azzi is,” Auriemma said. “They saw her all of a sudden at the end of last season, and now (it was), can she hold up for an entire season and do what she did for an entire season? For the most part, I think they’ve seen that.”
Alex: Maybe third time is the charm
Karaban had two real opportunities to leave UConn and enter the NBA Draft. Both times, he had a chance to be picked early in the second, maybe even late in the first round.
When decision-making time came after his sophomore season, Karaban isolated himself and went quiet. He felt enough pressure on his own, trying to figure out the best move for his future, that he didn’t need any additional opinions from the outside.
He tested at the draft combine and waited until the last possible second – right before the deadline to preserve college eligibility – to announce he was coming back for his junior year. And the expectations for UConn’s season instantly shot up.
It was a disappointing year as it turned out. The pieces didn’t quite come together and UConn fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Karaban might’ve had too much on his plate and didn’t see the rise in his draft stock that he’d hoped for.
His approach this past offseason was entirely different.
He was out and about, hosting basketball camps, hearing constant feedback from hundreds of kids in Connecticut: “‘You come back, you can be a legend!’” he remembered earlier this month. “I swear it was every 10 seconds someone was asking me. Those moments where you feel the love from the younger generation, they watch us play over time and you want to be an inspiration for them. That holds value for me.”
The second decision was a lot easier. It came toward the end of April, weeks before the combine, a month earlier than the first one.
“The main reason why I come back is to win,” he said. “That’s always going to be my No. 1 priority. Is Coach Hurley staying? Yes. Are the assistant coaches staying? Yes. Are the coaches gonna put a great team in the locker room? Yes. So I thought everything was checked out to where I truly believe that we have chances of winning and that’s most important for me. The rest of it will happen itself.”
Karaban still finds himself as a late first-round, early second-round pick in NBA mock drafts; ESPN has him reuniting with Stephon Castle at No. 35 overall to the San Antonio Spurs, Heavy.com has him coming off the board with the last pick in the first round, No. 30 overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Bleacher Report has him at No. 42 overall to the Miami Heat.
Finding their voices
Azzi: When she speaks, people listen
Fudd is reserved by nature, more inclined to let her game speak for itself than to dictate to her teammates. She’s the definition of a leader by example, but the Huskies were missing a clear voice after Bueckers left for the WNBA, and getting more vocal was a challenge Fudd embraced when she decided to return for this season.
The traditional idea of leadership will never be Fudd’s style, but because she speaks up sparingly, Auriemma said it means more when she chooses to. She’s also more comfortable taking charge this year than ever before, particularly on the court when things got out of control. She was the one running huddles and took over in the fourth quarter during UConn’s battle with Michigan in November. Then she stepped up when the team faced a halftime deficit for the first time all season at Villanova in February.
“Azzi doesn’t use her voice a lot, but when she does, it’s pretty impactful,” Auriemma said. “But I think leadership is, we really need a bucket right now and you make one. … Doing those things that have to be done right now, that makes the rest of the team go, ‘Yeah, that’s why they are where they are.’”
Fudd has also helped foster a unique dynamic within the team, one centered on unity and unconditional support. It’s a kind of connection Auriemma hasn’t seen with any of his 12 previous championship squads, but it’s also a key factor in the undefeated Huskies’ complete dominance this season.
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Freshman Kelis Fisher and USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel have shared the court with Fudd for less than nine months since arriving at UConn, but the newcomers were inconsolable on Senior Night watching Fudd walk across the court. Fisher says Fudd is like a second parent, often the one dishing out tough love when the freshman needs to hear it. Junior guard Ashlynn Shade calls Fudd a role model and says the redshirt senior was an important voice in helping her grow into her confidence over the last three years.
“She’s helped me grow so much as a player and as a person, so I’m fortunate for her, and it’s going to be really weird without her (next year),” Shade said. “I’m like, can you just keep staying until I’m done?”
Alex: He’s become an expert in peer pressure
Reflecting on his back-to-back national championship seasons, Karaban could easily be the fourth or fifth player mentioned on either team. His numbers didn’t jump off the page; he didn’t have the fiery personality of Cam Spencer or the knack for highlights and leadership like Andre Jackson Jr.
But he was always in the right spot, making the right play at the right moment.
Now he celebrates more, whether it be pumping his fist or encouraging the crowd.
“It’s pretty funny when he starts celebrating, like he celebrates pretty hard. His face is funny when he does it, I always laugh when I see him celebrate,” said point guard Silas Demary Jr., who’s gotten his first taste of the Karaban experience this year.
The only returning starter from both title teams, Karaban had to step up and out of his comfort zone as a vocal leader, starting in an elevated role last season. Exuding the swagger and confidence on the court was part of it, but he’s come a long way in his ability to speak up and hold his teammates accountable.
“It’s like having an associate head coach that’s with his teammates every day,” Hurley said on the Pat McAfee Show Wednesday. “His habits rub off on everyone in the program. In terms of his teammates, he peer pressures into film study, he peer pressures into extra work on the court, he peer pressures his teammates into going hard every single rep of every single practice.
“I’ll never coach another player like him. At a place where it’s hard to make history, this guy has had the greatest career of any player that’s ever played at UConn in men’s basketball. And he’s gonna go into the NBA and be a rotation piece straight away. He’s like a son to me.”
This March, Karaban wants national championship ring No. 3. He would be the first non-UCLA player to be able to make that claim. He’s scored a combined 49 points over the Huskies’ first two NCAA Tournament games and was as determined as ever on Sunday in leading the team back to the Sweet 16 with a career night.
“You could just tell on his face,” freshman Braylon Mullins said. “He’s our guy, he’s our captain, he’s our leader, and he’s going to take us as far as we need to go.”
Now, the final curtain
All good things must come to an end and so, too, will the careers of Fudd and Karaban as Huskies whenever this season ends. Before they move on to the next level, both are on a mission to extend things as long as they can in their final NCAA Tournaments and hopefully share the spotlight once again as national champions. The men’s team looks to win its third title in four years during the 2026 NCAA Tournament, while the women aim to go back-to-back for the first time since 2016.
Amid the championship chase, the redshirt seniors are dominating for their squads. Karaban powered UConn into the Sweet 16 with a career-high 27 points in the team’s second round win over UCLA on Sunday. Less than 24 hours later, Fudd dropped a career-high 34 points on a career-high eight made 3-pointers to lead the Huskies in a second-round rout of Syracuse.
UConn is the only program to ever win dual national titles and has done so twice, in 2004 and ’14. Those runs were led by legends — Diana Taurasi and Emeka Okafor, Breanna Stewart and Shabazz Napier.
No matter what happens in the next two weeks, Fudd and Karaban will leave UConn as champions with remarkable legacies. But to cement themselves even more as all-time greats, they’re hungry to make a little more history.
