University of Connecticut Athletics
Sarah Strong Earns 2026 Wade Trophy; Strong, Azzi Fudd Named WBCA All-Americans
4/2/2026 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PHOENIX – UConn women's basketball sophomore Sarah Strong is the recipient of the 2026 Wade Trophy, as announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Thursday. Strong and graduate student Azzi Fudd headline the WBCA's 10-member WBCA All-America team.
Now in its 49th year, the prestigious Wade Trophy is the oldest national player of the year award in college women's basketball. The award is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three consecutive national championships with the Lady Statesmen. The Wade Trophy is presented annually to the WBCA's NCAA Division I Player of the Year.
The 2026 Naismith Trophy winner and USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year, Strong leads UConn in points (18.6 PPG), rebounds (7.6 RPG), blocks (1.6 BPG) and steals (3.4 SPG). An incredibly efficient player, Strong has put up those numbers on a .594/.404/.848 shooting split in 27.1 minutes per game.
Strong's 127 steals rank second in program history for the most in a single season. She ranks 14th nationally in field goal percentage (59.4) and 10th in steals per game (3.43). Strong is first in the nation in win shares (12.3), defensive win shares (5.2), defensive rating (55.8) and player efficiency (45.5).
Against top-25 opponents this season, Strong averaged 20.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.6 steals per game.
The Durham, N.C., native reached 1,000 career points in her 59th career game on. Jan. 19, becoming the third fastest player to the milestone in program history.
Strong was named the unanimous BIG EAST Player of the Year and the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, as well as unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team and to the All-Defensive Team. She was named the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player and the NCAA Fort Worth Regional 1 Most Outstanding Player.
Fudd is playing her best basketball in her final season in Storrs. She is averaging a career-high 17.7 points per game on personal-best shooting percentages (.489/.455/.955). Fudd has set single-season career highs in rebounds (100), assists (117) and steals (97).
Against top-25 opponents this season, Fudd is averaging 20.7 points per game on a .474/.471/1.000 shooting split with 3.9 assists per game.
Fudd was named the 2026 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a unanimous 2026 All-BIG EAST First Team selection and to the 2026 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team and NCAA Fort Worth All-Region Team.
Strong and Fudd earned AP and USBWA First Team All-America honors last month. The duo are also CSC Academic All-District selections.
Eight Huskies have won the Wade Trophy 11 times: Rebecca Lobo (1995), Jennifer Rizzotti (1996), Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2003), Maya Moore (2009, '10, '11), Breanna Stewart (2015, '16), Paige Bueckers (2025) and Strong (2026).
Twenty-seven Huskies have earned WBCA All-America honors 52 times.
