Heartbroken Azzi Fudd brought to tears in emotional Final Four exit interview
The UConn women’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking exit from the 2026 NCAA tournament on Friday night, falling to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. UConn entered the half leading the Gamecocks, 26-24, before South Carolina came out firing on all cylinders in the second half to pull away for a 62-48 win. After the game, All-American guard and the projected No.
1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, Azzi Fudd , spoke to the media and was brought to tears while reflecting on her time with the Huskies. WATCH: Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma have heated altercation in tense Final Four battle It was an emotional moment for Fudd, who fought through several injuries throughout her career to help lead UConn to a national championship last season. Azzi Fudd after her last game at UConn 🥺 pic.
twitter. com/5tuuJ7sul0 — ESPN (@espn) April 4, 2026 “A lot of emotions. I mean, obviously, this isn’t how I wanted my career at UConn to end, but these five years, I have so much to be grateful for,” Fudd told reporters while fighting through tears.
“I couldn’t have asked for better teammates, better coaches, a better experience. I’ll look back on college, and what I’m talking about is how this game, like I said, not how we wanted to end, but it defined us and what this team is, what this season was for us. “So, I feel guilty, like I let the team down today, but a lot of gratitude, a lot of love, and just a lot that I’ll never be able to verbalize and thank the coaching staff, the teammates, the support staff, everyone from this program that supported me, touched me.
I’ll never be able to really verbalize how much they meant to me. ” MORE: Geno Auriemma meltdown called out by ESPN’s Andraya Carter, Chiney Ogwumike It was a disappointing end to Fudd’s incredible time at UConn, but she has every reason to hold her head high. Fudd ends her college career as a national champion, a first-team All-American, 2025 NCAA Tournament MOP, and a two-time first-team All-Big East honoree.