Azzi Fudd steals the spotlight as UConn star gets honored by Washington Nationals

Cincinnati Reds v Washington Nationals - Source: Getty
Azzi Fudd threw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals game - Source: Getty

UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd had the honor of throwing the first pitch at the Washington Nationals game on Monday. She was recognized at Nationals Park ahead of the game against the Cincinnati Reds.

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Talk Nats posted a carousel of photos and videos on X (formerly Twitter) of Fudd on the field.

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Fudd, who grew up in Arlington, Virginia, entered the field wearing a custom Nationals jersey with her name on the back and the No. 35, which she wears for UConn. She was all smiles as she stood on the mound and threw the first pitch. The pitch, while not the most powerful, made it to the catcher.

The Washington Nationals X account also posted a picture of Azzi Fudd on the field with the caption:

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"THE PEOPLE'S PRINCESS BACK HOME."
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Fudd, who is entering her senior year at UConn, played high school basketball at St. John's College in Washington, D.C., located about a 10–15-minute drive from Nationals Park. So it was a homecoming of sorts for the star athlete.


Azzi Fudd will be the centerpiece of UConn Huskies next season

While most of her career has been plagued by injuries, Azzi Fudd bounced back with a bang last season. She put up some incredible numbers, averaging 13.6 points while shooting 47.4% and 43.6% from the arc.

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UConn becomes a different beast with Fudd in the lineup. She was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player after leading the Huskies to a national title. UConn beat South Carolina in the championship game, where Fudd tied for a game-high 24 points alongside her freshman teammate, Sarah Strong.

Now that Paige Bueckers is in the WNBA, one can expect Fudd to have an even bigger leadership role for the UConn team under Geno Auriemma. And so far, Auriemma loves what he is seeing from her.

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"I gotta tell you, I’ve never seen Azzi this aggressive, this engaged in wanting to do a lot, and that’s probably stood out more than anything else," Auriemma said during his media availability last month. "She’s just more aggressive, more assertive, more 'If I don’t like the way things are going, I want to take over.'"

The Huskies added Serah Williams from Wisconsin and Kayleigh Heckel from UConn this offseason to team up with Fudd.

Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra
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