UConn coach Geno Auriemma breaks NCAA all-time wins record as Azzi Fudd returns from injury

Geno Auriemma now stands alone at the top.

Auriemma picked up his 1,217th career win on Wednesday night as No. 2 UConn beat Fairleigh Dickinson 85-41 at Gampel Pavilion. That officially broke a tie with longtime Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and made Auriemma the winningest head coach in men’s and women’s Division I college basketball history.

Naturally, UConn pulled out all the stops for Auriemma on his historic night. Plenty of former players and stars were in attendance, and the university held a big ceremony for him after the game.

They even brought out a live goat for, well, the G.O.A.T.

Auriemma first took over at UConn in 1985, and he quickly turned the program into a women’s basketball powerhouse. He’s made the Final Four 23 times and won 11 national championships. They went on a run where they reached the Final Four an incredible 14 consecutive times, and they won four straight national titles from 2013-16. Auriemma was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Auriemma officially secured his 1,200th career win last season, which made him one of just three coaches in history to reach that milestone. VanDerveer retired as the winningest coach in the sport’s history after last season. Longtime Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski retired with 1,202 career wins, which made him the winningest men’s Division I coach in history.

Only five other women’s basketball coaches have won more than 1,000 games in history. DePaul coach Doug Bruno is the closest active coach to Auriemma on the all-time list, but he has just 786 wins to his name. Arkansas coach John Calipari is the closest active coach on the men's side to Auriemma's record, though Calipari is more than 400 wins behind him.

The Huskies had no issue with Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night. They held the Knights to just eight points in both the second and third quarters en route to the 44-point win. Sarah Strong led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds, and Paige Bueckers finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Azzi Fudd returns for UConn after knee injury

Wednesday also marked the return of star Azzi Fudd, who went down with a knee injury more than a year ago. Fudd tore her right ACL and meniscus in practice last November, which knocked her out for all but two games last season. She's been recovering ever since.

Fudd, a former No. 1 overall recruit from the 2021 class, has averaged 13.1 points and 2.4 rebounds during her time at UConn. She’s dealt with several injuries throughout her career, and she played in just 15 games during the 2022-23 campaign. Fudd has played in just 42 total games in college, and she’s now a redshirt junior.

Though it’s unclear what Fudd will do, as she has another season of eligibility left, she is projected to be a lottery pick if she were to declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft after this season with the Huskies. Bueckers, who could return for one last season herself, is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the draft this summer.

Fudd came off the bench in the win, and finished with four points and a rebound while shooting 1-of-4 from the field.

The Huskies, now 4-0, will take on Oregon State next on Monday. They will also face No. 25 Louisville, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 8 Iowa State and No. 3 USC in the next month ahead of Big East play, which should provide a great stretch of basketball before the Huskies attempt to win a fifth straight regular season and conference tournament title.

If they can make it through that stretch relatively unscathed, now that Bueckers and Fudd are back together on the court, Auriemma will be in a great position to add to his already legendary résumé come spring.