Science- Azzi Fudd is fairly adamant about sticking to her routine on game days.
- The UConn Huskies sharpshooter shared her go-to pregame meal, exercises, and more with Insider.
Azzi Fudd has a solid pregame routine.
The UConn Huskies sharpshooter — who is, for the third year in a row, one of the top players on one of the top college basketball teams in the nation — keeps her game day preparation "pretty structured" even outside of team-mandated activities, she told Insider.
During a weekday game, she'll either attend class if they're playing at home or head to study hall when they're on the road. Fudd and her teammates head to shoot around and, roughly four hours before tipoff, they'll meet up for a pregame meal.
If the Huskies are prepping for a midday or early afternoon game, the superstar shooting guard will typically opt for an omelet.
"Breakfast is my favorite pregame meal," Fudd told Insider. "My omelet is usually very veggie heavy, and if the bacon looks good — hotel bacon can go either way — then I'll usually have a couple pieces of bacon, toast, and call it a day. That's my ideal. I love breakfast. I could eat that anytime."
"But if it's later in the day, it's usually some sort of salad," she added. "Depending on what the chicken looks like, there can be chicken or there cannot be chicken, but I'm usually adding a hard-boiled egg and all the veggies. We always have a baked potato bar, so I'll probably put some bacon on there, too."
From there, Fudd typically heads back to her room — either on campus or at the team's hotel — and takes a shower. She'll spend some time wearing air compression boots to help increase blood flow and decrease soreness in her legs, then she uses a foam roller and stretches to make sure her body is ready for the demands of a game.
If she can, she'll often take a pregame nap from there, but sometimes she finds herself "so nervous that I can't sleep." Then comes one of the most pivotal, and one of the least discussed, aspects of an athlete's game day procedure.
"Usually I take a pre-game poop at the hotel," Fudd says plainly.
Later, after getting her ankles taped and doing some preparatory foot exercises, she'll "take another pregame poop and then go warm up."
"I usually always have something in me," Fudd added. "I could not eat and I'll still find a way to poop."
Anything to lighten the load.
The top-ranked recruit in the class of 2021, Fudd is expected to be one of the best players in the country this year after struggling with injuries over her first two seasons at UConn. On Tuesday, the 21-year-old was one of 50 players named to the preseason watch list for the 2023-2024 John R. Wooden Award, which is awarded to the top college basketball player in the country each year.
Fudd and the eighth-ranked Huskies next take the floor Thursday as they host the No. 20 Maryland Terrapins at Gampel Pavillion. Fans can tune in to FS1 at 6:30 p.m. ET to watch the action unfold.