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Top-ranked high school basketball player in nation signs with UConn

Fred Jeter | 11/25/2020, 6 p.m.
The rich get richer in women’s college basketball. In this case, much richer.
Azzi Fudd, 18, of Northern Virginia with her parents, Tim and Katie Fudd, both former college basketball standouts.

The rich get richer in women’s college basketball. In this case, much richer.

Virginian Azzi Fudd, the consensus top-ranked high school senior in the nation, has signed with perennial powerhouse the University of Connecticut. UConn has won 11 NCAA titles, the most of any school.

Fudd, a 5-foot-11 guard, is a senior at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C.

The daughter of former college standouts Katie and Tim Fudd, Azzi was born in Fairfax and resides in Arlington. She played on both the U-16 and U-17 USA World Basketball teams. Last year, she led St. John’s to its fifth straight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title.

Fudd, 18, is named after Jennifer Azzi, a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Fudd’s parents may be familiar to basketball fans. Her mother, the former Katie Smrcka-Duffy, starred at James Madison High School in Northern Virginia and later at North Carolina State and Georgetown universities. She was ACC Rookie of the Year as a freshman at N.C. State and twice the Big East Player of the Year for the Hoyas. At Madison High, she recorded 2,463 career points and is a member of the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame.

Fudd’s father, Tim Fudd, standing 6-foot-7, starred at Chantilly High School in Northern Virginia and went on to average 12 points per game in his career at American University. He is a former assistant coach at Longwood University and currently is on the staff at St. John’s High.

Fudd will enroll at UConn prior to the 2021-22 season and play for legendary Coach Geno Auriemma.