UConn star Azzi Fudd is heading home to play basketball for the final time as a college student.

Fudd and the No. 1 Huskies will face Georgetown in Big East action on Thursday night at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., not far from where she played at St. John's College High School.

Before arriving in Storrs, Conn., as the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021, Fudd became a household name in the nation’s capital. Her long list of accolades while in high school includes selection as a three-time Gatorade Washington, D.C., Player of the Year, a 2021 McDonald’s All-American and the 2021 Morgan Wooten High School Basketball Player of the Year recipient.

In 2019, she was the first sophomore to be named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

Now, the grad-student guard returns home as a national champion and the winner of the 2025 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player award as well as a 2025 selection to the All-Big East Team and the Big East All-Tournament Team.

The next time the home region sees her should be as a pro player. She is expected to be a high draft pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft in April. She is unlikely to last long enough for the hometown Washington Mystics to select her with the first of their three first-round draft picks, No. 4.

For now, Fudd can think about that later. She is preparing for her final appearance against Georgetown (11-7, 4-5) -- a Big East foe for whom her mother once played.

“I'm super excited, obviously, to be able to play at home,” she said Monday after UConn (19-0, 9-0) defeated Notre Dame 85-47. “I don't really know who's coming. I'm assuming lots of people will be there. So it's always fun to be home and see a lot of familiar faces. There's a lot of people I love.

“I’m just grateful.”

The defending champion Huskies lead the nation in scoring defense (51.4 points per game) and are second in scoring offense (90.1). And Fudd is a huge part of that. She is averaging a career-high 17.3 points and 2.8 assists per game and is shooting 45.5% from 3-point range, good for 11th in the nation.

She is a perfect 31 of 31 from the free-throw line.

Despite her lofty numbers, Fudd did not have her best outing in UConn’s most recent game, the lopsided win over Notre Dame. She scored 15 points but was 0-of-4 shooting from long distance. So when the shot wasn’t falling, she focused on defense.

“I thought defensively she impacted the game, and that’s what really good players do,” Auriemma said. “They don’t just go, ‘Well, I’m not shooting the ball well tonight, so my impact is going to be minimal.’ I think that was the kind of game you want to have. … I think the sign (of a top player) is, can you impact the game when you know it’s not your best day?”

Knowing Fudd, she’s probably saved her best for last.

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