Unbelievable tekkers.

Azzi Fudd sticks around

UConn star Azzi Fudd is staying put for her final season of college eligibility, the 22-year-old announced on Tuesday, forgoing the WNBA draft until 2026.

• Fudd told ESPN that one more year with the Huskies will allow her to “work on everything I need to work on,” in the lead-up to turning pro.

Big picture: Fudd is a highly touted WNBA prospect, but her college career has been shortened by injury, with the sharpshooter only making 72 appearances over four years at Uconn.

• Coming off an 2023 ACL tear, Fudd has returned to form in recent months, highlighted by February’s 28-point performance against top-ranked South Carolina.

• Extending her tenure at UConn means Fudd will also be expected to fill departing superstar Paige Bueckers’s shoes, telling ESPN “Paige is going to be gone, so I can’t rely on her to speak and do all that stuff, on and off the court. I will have to be in that position.”

Money talks: While Fudd says her decision to stick around is based purely on her athletic development, there are also real financial considerations at play.

• With the WNBPA set to negotiate a new CBA this year, rookies entering the league in 2026 will likely do so at a much higher salary than those joining in 2025, among other anticipated benefits.

• And with NIL deals in full swing, staying in school no longer means turning down the chance to build capital.

Bottom line: The end of the modern NCAA season means an onslaught of pivotal draft declarations and transfer portal decisions — and for a big name like Fudd, opting to stay on at UConn not only benefits coach Geno Auriemma’s legendary program, but the sport at large.

Naismith taps NCAA POY finalists

The 2025 Naismith Player of the Year Award is down to four NCAA standouts, after a season filled with frontrunners provided the board of selectors an embarrassment of riches.

• This year’s finalists are USC sophomore JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame sophomore Hannah Hidalgo, UCLA junior Lauren Betts, and UConn senior Paige Bueckers.

• Bueckers and Watkins also made the finalist cut in 2024, before losing out to leading NCAA scorer-turned-WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.

Big picture: With each athlete playing different roles in their respective teams’ systems, any of this year’s top performers could make a case for NPOY.

• Shooting over 54% in her final year with UConn, playmaking guard Bueckers already won the 2021 National Player of the Year award as a freshman.

• Watkins and Hidalgo are both prolific scorers, with the Notre Dame guard slightly edging out Watkins in points-per-game — in addition to earning a regular-season win over USC.

• Betts has been No. 1 overall seed UCLA’s anchor, shooting 64.3% from the floor while averaging a near double-double and leading the Bruins to a 32-2 overall record.

What’s next: The winner of the 2025 Naismith Women’s College POY award will be announced in April 2nd ahead of the NCAA Final Four.

UWCL wraps up quarterfinals

The UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinals will be decided over the next two days, as the second leg of the home-and-away quarterfinals cuts Europe’s surviving teams down to four.

• Three-time UWCL winners — and defending champs — Barcelona and eight-time winners Lyon both have multi-goal advantages going into this week’s matchups against German sides Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich, respectively.

Big picture: Perennial winners aside, the knockout round’s most anticipated storyline belongs to the three remaining English clubs: Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea.

• While Chelsea’s enjoying a multi-game lead in the WSL, they sit on the ropes in UWCL play after a brace by former Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema boosted City over the Blues earlier this month.

• Thursday’s clash will also mark an unusual fourth consecutive meeting between the two teams, with Chelsea taking the most recent WSL victory on Sunday 2-1.

• Arsenal’s Champions League campaign is similarly down to the wire, as the Gunners attempt to climb out of a 2-0 hole against Real Madrid back home at Emirates after a first leg marred by particularly slippery playing conditions.

Tune in: The UWCL quarterfinals’ second leg kicks off today at 1:45 PM ET, with live streaming coverage on DAZN.

On this week's all-new Sports Are Fun! presented by Intuit TurboTax, host Kelley O’Hara hits the JWS studio to bring you the best and brightest in women’s sports — served with an extra side of fun.

• In the episode, O'Hara and co-hosts sports journalist Greydy Diaz, retired NWSL great Merritt Mathias, and JWS producer Adam Bernstein lament their busted March Madness brackets before tapping UConn guard Azzi Fudd as this year’s secret NCAA tournament weapon.

• “I think my biggest one that I was like, ‘whoa,’ was UConn by 69,” Diaz said of the Huskies’ first-round blowout win. “But we do have to talk about miss Azzi Fudd — 21 points in the first half of that game.”

• “We said if she shows up, she will be a differentiator for this team going deep into March Madness,” echoed Mathias.

Watch more: "Azzi Fudd is UConn's Difference Maker!" on Sports Are Fun!

Boston’s NWSL team rebrands

Boston’s NWSL team has a new name, with the 2026 expansion side announcing a rebrand to Boston Legacy FC on Wednesday in a pivot from last October’s initial controversy-spurring ”BOS Nation” rollout.

• In a press release, the team said it arrived at Boston Legacy FC after “five months of fan listening, research, and consultation,” going on to describe the name as “invoking both [Boston’s] long history and its importance as a hub of future innovation.”

• The NWSL approved Boston’s expansion bid in September 2023, with the league returning to New England for its 15th club after founding team Boston Breakers folded in 2018.

Starting fresh: “I look forward to watching the Boston Legacy build a club for a new generation while honoring those who helped build the game,” said USWNT icon and team advisor Kristine Lilly. “It is an exciting time for women’s soccer and I look forward to cheering on the Boston Legacy.”

Top high school recruit picks Oklahoma

No. 1 high school recruit Aaliyah Chavez will play her college basketball at Oklahoma, with the decorated Monterey High School senior announcing her decision on ESPN’s SportsCenter yesterday.

• The 5-foot-11 point guard from Lubbock, Texas finished the 2024/25 season with a career 4,796 points, 1,279 rebounds, and 771 assists, picking up 2025 McDonald's All-American, Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and Gatorade Player of the Year honors along the way.

• After seeing the Sooners top Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of this year’s NCAA tournament, Chavez chose the SEC newcomer despite interest from South Carolina, LSU, UCLA, and Texas, among other top-ranked schools.

• “They play fast and they like to shoot, and if you watch me play, I love to shoot and I play fast, so it just kind of matched how I played,” she said of her future college team.

Bottom line: Any program’s foundation begins with recruiting, and Oklahoma has made it their mission to compete as they continue their March Madness run into the tournament’s second week.

Number of the day

78 MPH

Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens threw the fastest pitch in college softball history on Monday at 78 MPH — breaking Monica Abbott’s previous record of 77 MPH.