St. John’s College High School sophomore Azzi Fudd added to her list of career accolades on Tuesday when she was named the Gatorade Nationals Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really thinking about it. I thought, ‘I’m just a sophomore; it will go to one of the upperclassmen,’ ” Fudd told the Washington Post. “I did not see this coming at all.”
Fudd, who ranked the top player in the 2021 class, is coming off a 2018-19 season where she averaged 26.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. The 5-foot-11 guard was named Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second time. Fudd also won the Gatorade Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year award for the District of Columbia.
Fudd posted some impressive numbers this season, recording four doubles-doubles, scoring 35 or more points eight times and had a season-high 40 points against Bishop O’Connell.
Fudd is the first sophomore in history to be named a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award.
St. John’s went 35-1 and won its second straight WCAC and DCSAA championship. Fudd tallied 32 points in the WCAC championship game against Bishop McNamara.
The Cadets are ranked first in the AllMets Girls’ Basketball Top 20 rankings and second nationally.
St. John’s will be one of the four girls’ basketball teams to compete in the GEICO High School Basketball Nationals. The Cadets will face Centennial High School (Nev.) in the semifinals on April 5.
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