The hope, when Hannah Hidalgo first enrolled at Notre Dame last June, was that she could help the Irish tread water at point guard until 2023 second-team All-American Olivia Miles returned sometime during the 2024 season.
Miles never returned from a February 2023 knee injury, and ended up deferring her re-entry into women’s college basketball until next season, while Hidalgo became more than a place-holder for the ninth-ranked Irish (26-6).
Much more.
On Wednesday, in fact, the 5-foot-6 Haddonfield, N.J., product made history, becoming the first freshman in ND’s storied women’s basketball history to be named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press.
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It’s a rarity anywhere. Prior to Hidalgo and USC freshman JuJu Watkins joining Iowa senior Caitlin Clark, Stanford senior Cameron Brink and UConn redshirt junior Paige Bueckers on the AP first team, only three players had been named first-team All-Americans by the Associated Press since it began honoring elite women’s basketball players in 1994-95.
Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris, UConn’s Maya Moore and Bueckers three seasons ago are the only others.
“Hannah is a special player,” Irish All-ACC junior guard Sonia Citron said. “We knew before she even played a game. Just when she came in in the summer, she just has a different mentality, so in workouts, in practices, we kind of just knew she was going to be special. She's just different.”
Hidalgo is averaging 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists and a nation-best 4.6 steals a game as ND preps for its NCAA Tournament opener Saturday at 2:15 p.m. EDT against 15 seed Kent State (21-10) at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind. The Irish are the No. 2 seed in the Albany 1 Regional.
Hidalgo’s scoring average is third nationally, behind only Clark and Watkins.
“They have a lot of trust in me,” Hidalgo said of her Irish teammates. “I learned to just kind of have confidence in myself. Right when I came in, they were like, ‘Hannah, shoot the ball, score the ball.’ That was really big for me.
“It means a lot for my coaches and my teammates to have so much trust in me and want me to score like that and kind of be the lead and be the head and just dish the ball out and make everyone better. The trust they instill in me is just amazing.”
Also amazing is that Hidalgo is just the 13th Notre Dame women’s basketball player to be named an AP All-American (first, second or third team), and just the fifth to be a first-teamer. Head coach Niele Ivey is one of those 13, having earned third-team honors during an Irish national championship season, 2001.
The previous first-teamers are Jewell Loyd (2015), Kayla McBride (2014), Skylar Diggins (2012 and 2013) and Ruth Riley (2001 and 2001).
Hidalgo has already earned numerous postseason honors this year, including ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP as well making All-America teams by The Athletic, Sporting News, ESPN and USBWA.
“I think she's handled it really well,” Ivey said. “Credit her family and the foundation. She's very humble. She loves this game, so she just wants to compete. So, everything that's coming her way is because of what she's been able to accomplish and do.
“It's not something that she seeks. It's just …she’s different. She has a light about her. I think she's doing a great job of managing it. Again, she's got great leaders and she also has position coach, Charel Allen, and myself that try to help her through it, because it is a lot for a freshman. And I think she's done a phenomenal job of handling it.”
AP ALL-AMERICA TEAM
First Team
Caitlin Clark, Iowa, 6-0; Senior; West Des Moines, Iowa; 31.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists (35 of 35 first place votes, 175 points*)
Cameron Brink, Stanford; 6-4; Senior; Beaverton, Ore.; 17.8 points, 12 rebounds 2.9 assists (33, 171)
JuJu Watkins, USC; 6-2; Freshman; Los Angeles; 27 points, 7.2 rebounds 3.2 assists (33, 169)
Paige Bueckers, UConn; 6-0; Junior; Hopkins, Minn.; 21.3, 4.8 rebounds, 53.8% field goal percentage (19, 141)
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame; 5-6; Freshman; Haddonfield, N.J.; 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 4.6 steals (19, 139)
*-unanimous selection
Second Team
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech; 6-6; Senior; Summerfield, N.C.; 22.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 55.6% field goal percentage (16, 131)
Angel Reese, LSU; 6-3; Junior; Baltimore, Md.; 19 points, 13.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists (12, 123)
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina; 6-7; Senior; Montes Claros, Brazil; 14 points, 9.5 rebounds, 58.4% field goal percentage (5, 105)
Madison Booker, Texas; 6-1; Freshman; Ridgeland, Miss.; 16.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists (1, 62)
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State; 5-10; Senior; Dublin, Ohio; 18 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists (1, 52)
Third Team
Alissa Pili, Utah; 6-2; Senior; Anchorage, Alaska; 20.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 54.8% field goal percentage (0, 51)
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana; 6-3; Senior; Gorham, Maine; 20 points, 6.9 rebounds, 66.7% field goal percentage (1, 31)
Georgia Amoore, Virginia Tech; 5-6; Senior; Ballarat, Australia; 19.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists (0, 31)
Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse; 5-5; Senior; Rochester, N.Y.; 22 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists (0, 30)
Raegan Beers, Oregon State; 6-4; Sophomore; Littleton, Colo.; 17.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 66% field goal percentage (0, 26)
Honorable Mention
Lauren Betts, UCLA; Audi Crooks, Iowa State; Aaliyah Edwards, UConn; Yvonne Ejim Gonzaga; Lauren Gustin, BYU; McKenna Hofschild, Colorado State; Abbey Hsu, Columbia; Kiki Iriafen, Stanford; Rickea Jackson, Tennessee; Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State; Ayoka Lee, Kansas State; Cotie McMahon, Ohio State; Aneesah Morrow, LSU; Nika Muhl, UConn; Lucy Olsen, Villanova; Charisma Osborne, UCLA; Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina; JJ Quinerly, West Virginia; Saniya Rivers, North Carolina State; Kiki Rice, UCLA; Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado; Skylar Vann, Oklahoma.
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