VIDEO: UConn national champ Azzi Fudd grinds on-court with trainer Chris Brickley for upcoming season without Paige Bueckers

Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers were teammates on the UConn Huskies for four years. They joined the team during the same class and played their freshman seasons in 2020-21 together. Fudd is returning for a fifth season after being granted medical redshirt status during her junior season. Conversely, Bueckers will not return and has started her WNBA career.

Together, the two UConn stars built incredible on-court chemistry. Off the court, they also appeared to be great friends. However, next year, Fudd will need to manage being on the Huskies without Bueckers.

On Wednesday, trainer Chris Brickley posted a clip of Fudd training on Instagram. He included a caption indicating how hard they are working. Fudd took the clip and reposted it to her Instagram story:

"We grinding and this upcoming season means a lot. We trying to be the best! Simple as that Azzi Fudd

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After tearing her ACL in her junior season, Azzi Fudd returned for a strong season in 2024-25. Although she took a slight step back from her sophomore season, Fudd still had an impressive performance considering the severity of the injury she was returning from. She averaged 13.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.8 apg and 1.4 spg.

Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers go viral with a TikTok clip

While Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers were great as teammates during their time together on UConn, they are also great friends who often post about each other on social media. On May 24, during a trip Fudd took to Dallas to visit Bueckers, Fudd posted a clip on TikTok that went viral.

In the clip, Fudd and Bueckers do a skit where they are out getting food. Fudd asks:

"How much was it?"

Bueckers responds:

"$200."

Fudd then says:

"Oh that's not bad."

Bueckers then jokingly leans forward, making a face because she paid for the meal. Fudd included a funny caption, implying Bueckers usually pays for their meals.

"Princess treatment every time I'm with her," Fudd wrote.

Paige Bueckers is in the midst of the first season of her WNBA career. She has played six games, averaging 14.7 ppg, 4.7 RPG, 6.7 apg, 2.0 spg and 1.0 bpg. However, she has missed the past two games due to concussion protocol. Neither the coaching staff nor Bueckers has indicated the severity of her injury. However, it does not appear likely that she will be out long-term.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Alexander O'Reilly