For the second consecutive year, the Dallas Wings had the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, and for the second year running, they selected a star guard from Connecticut.

Azzi Fudd heard her name called first in the 2026 WNBA draft and will join forces again with 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Unlike in most previous years, this year’s No. 1 overall pick was a bit of a mystery entering the evening, but Dallas ultimately opted for the 5-foot-11 sharpshooter with four years’ worth of college experience.

Fudd, a national champion in 2025, made 117 3-pointers at UConn last season and finished her college career shooting 42.2% from beyond the arc. In 39 games last season, Fudd averaged 17.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

Fudd will join the Wings as they try to rebound from a 10-34 season amid an offseason with several changes.

Dallas added Alanna Smith, last year’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year winner, along with forward Jessica Shepard to bolster the frontcourt.

The Wings also re-signed franchise scoring leader Arike Ogunbowale this offseason to bridge the gap between the past and a future backcourt of Fudd and Bueckers.

BACK-TO-BACK NO. 1 PICKS FOR THE HUSKIES

Azzi Fudd joins Paige Bueckers in Dallas pic.twitter.com/mH8fcFL0N8

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 13, 2026

With the second overall pick, the Minnesota Lynx selected TCU point guard Olivia Miles, adding a versatile playmaker to a team that was a league-best 34-10 last regular season.

The Lynx acquired the No. 2 pick in a 2024 trade with the Chicago Sky.

At 5-foot-10, Miles averaged 19.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists in her senior season while leading the Horned Frogs to the Elite Eight.

While Minnesota has lost several contributors in free agency, Miles looks to add talent to the Lynx roster around perennial MVP candidate Napheesa Collier.

The Seattle Storm used the third overall pick on Spanish center Awa Fam Thiam.

At just 19 years old, Fam Thiam was considered among the highest-upside players in the draft and garnered some attention as a candidate to go No. 1.

At 6-foot-4, Fam Thiam could be a defensive anchor for a Storm team that will look a lot different after the offseason departures of Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams.

The Storm further bolstered their roster by trading for LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson, who was originally picked No. 8 by the Golden State Valkyries.

UCLA makes history again

Just a week after UCLA won its first national championship in women’s basketball, the Bruins had a record six players drafted into the WNBA and five in the first round, also a record.

Three UCLA players were drafted back-to-back-to-back, starting with 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts going to the Washington Mystics with the fourth overall pick.

The Sky selected Gabriela Jaquez with the fifth pick, and Kiki Rice became the first-ever draft pick by the expansion Toronto Tempo at No. 6.

Later, the Mystics added Angela Dugalic with the ninth pick, and Gianna Kneepkens was selected with the 15th and final pick of the first round by the Connecticut Sun.

Charlisse Leger-Walker became the sixth UCLA player taken in the draft when the Sun selected her with the third pick in the second round.

International flair

This year’s WNBA draft saw a strong class of international players drafted as basketball’s global popularity continues to increase.

Three international players were taken in the first round, beginning with Fam Thiam with the No. 3 pick. Iyana Martin Carrion, also from Spain, went No. 7 to the expansion Portland Fire, and France’s Nell Angloma was the No. 12 overall selection by the Sun.

Other international players selected were Germany’s Frieda Buehner (No. 17 overall), Australia’s Saffron Shiels (26), France’s Ines Pitarch-Granel (27), Japan’s Kokoro Tanaka (38), Australia’s Manuela Puoch (41), Hungary’s Eszter Ratkai (42) and China’s Kejia Ran (43).

Leger-Walker was not considered an international prospect because she attended UCLA, but she became the first player born in New Zealand to be drafted into the WNBA.