During her September recruiting visit to Notre Dame, elite women’s basketball prospect Hannah Hidalgo got a taste of culture shock.
Taking in a stunning Notre Dame football home loss to Marshall.
Her lasting impression, though, from the weekend was all about the future of the Irish women’s basketball program. And on Tuesday afternoon, the nation’s No. 5 overall prospect announced her decision via Instagram to be a part of it.
The addition of the 5-foot-6 five-star point guard from Paul VI High in Haddonfield, N.J., caps a staggering surge on the recruiting trail for third-year Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey and her staff.
Wednesday is the final day of the eight-day early signing period for the 2023 class, and the Irish will close with the signing of three top 20 prospects, per ESPNw’s rankings. At No. 5, Hidalgo is the highest-rated recruit among the three classes Ivey has signed as well as the 2020 class she inherited in taking over for retired coaching icon Muffet McGraw.
Current sophomore and preseason All-America point guard Olivia Miles, previously was the highest-rated among the Ivey recruits, at No. 8 in the 2021 class.
“(Hidalgo) is like Olivia Miles in that she’s very difficult to contain, and she can make shots, just like Miles,” said Dan Olson, owner and director of Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. “She's got that savviness about her and that unselfishness toward her game, just like Olivia Miles, that is like a pass-first mentality.
“Hidalgo can just flat out break you down, get in the lane and score. Not as big as Miles. She’s not really a big guard by any means. But she’s fearless when she gets in that lane and she’ll take the contact. She’s got such a smooth way about how she finishes the play.”
Hidalgo chose the Irish over fellow finalists Stanford, Michigan, UCF, Duke and Ohio State.
Joining Hidalgo is 6-2 sharpshooter Emma Risch from Melbourne, Fla., the No. 20 player overall in the class and a 45% 3-point shooter in high school, and 6-2 wing Cassandre Prosper, the No. 16 player in the class and the top prospect from Canada.
Of the three, only Risch was previously committed before the signing period started.
“Irish eyes are smiling!” Ivey said on Tuesday after signing Hidalgo. “We are ecstatic to welcome five-star point guard Hannah Hidalgo to the ND family! Hannah brings swag, competitiveness, and a relentless drive that will instantly elevate our program.
"She is-multi dimensional, lightning fast and tenacious defensively with a scorer’s mentality and a high basketball IQ. Hannah does a great job of pushing pace and making everyone around her better. The Joyce Center will be electric to watch one of the fastest backcourts in the country with the additions of Hannah, Cass Prosper and Emma Risch.”
In three seasons at Paul VI High, located about 10 miles east of Philadelphia, Hidalgo has averaged 21.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 5.4 steals per game under her coach/father Orlando Hidalgo going into her senior season.
She recently signed a one-year contract with Seven1 Sports Agency for name, image and likeness (NIL) representation. New Jersey is one of 16 states that allow high school athletes to pursue NIL deals.
In July, she helped lead Team USA to a 7-0 record and a gold medal in the 2022 U17 FIBA World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary. Ivey and associate head coach Carol Owens made the trip to Eastern Europe to see and be seen by Hidalgo and a handful of other Irish recruiting targets in the 2023 and 2004 classes. Hidalgo averaged 7.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals against the best competition in the world in her age group.
The current Notre Dame women’s basketball team is off to a 2-0 start and ranked ninth nationally in the AP poll. The Irish visit Northwestern (1-1) on Wednesday night (9 EST; Big Ten Network).
Guard Dara Mabrey and center Lauren Ebo, both grad seniors, are the only two players on the current ND roster with expiring eligibility after this season.
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