UConn’s Sarah Strong, UCLA’s Lauren Betts, Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes lead star-studded AP All-America 1st team

The 34-0 UConn Huskies were well represented on the AP All-American list. UConn’s Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd became the 10th teammates to be named first team and the first since Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard made the list in 2020.

Strong and Fudd carried the load for UConn this season. Strong averaged 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks. To put that into perspective, Strong leads UConn in every one of those categories except assists, and her assists are only .7 behind the team’s assist leader, KK Arnold. She is also shooting 60.1% from the field and 42.7% from three as a sophomore.

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Fudd is close behind, averaging 17.7 points, 3 assists, and 2.6 rebounds on 48.9% from the field and 44.6% from beyond the arc. Strong and Fudd are joined by Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, UCLA’s Lauren Betts, and Texas’ Madison Booker on the first team.

Blakes leads the NCAA in scoring, averaging 27 points per game. Betts was the Big Ten Player of the Year, named to the first team, and earned the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award for the second straight year. She helped lead UCLA to a 31-1 season and its second consecutive Big Ten title.

Booker was also named to the first team for the second year in a row and helped lead Texas to a win in the SEC tournament after beating South Carolina in the championship game.

The second team features Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards, TCU’s Olivia Miles, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, and Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge. LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, Michigan’s Olivia Olson, UCLA’s Kiki Rice, Duke’s Toby Fournier, and South Carolina’s Raven Johnson made up the third team. Kentucky’s Clara Strack, Texas’ Rori Harmon, and Mississippi’s Cotie McMahon received honorable mentions.