Notre Dame and USC featured two of the top freshmen in women's college basketball last season: Hannah Hidalgo with the Irish and JuJu Watkins with the Trojans.
The two rising stars in the game will have a chance to play against each other in each of the next two seasons, following a schedule announcement from both programs Friday. Notre Dame will play at USC on Nov. 23 this coming season. The Trojans will visit South Bend during the 2025-26 season at a date still to be announced.
Both programs made it into the Sweet 16 of last year's NCAA Tournament. As a No. 2 seed, Notre Dame lost to 3-seed Oregon State in the Sweet 16 round. USC, a No. 1 seed, lost to 3-seed UConn in the Elite Eight round.
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Both teams will have even higher expectations for the 2024-25 season with transfer portal additions. The Irish added All-ACC forward Liatu King from Pittsburgh and All-Big East forward Liza Karlen from Marquette. The Trojans added All-Pac-12 forward Kiki Iriafen from Stanford and All-Pac-12 guard Talia von Oelhoffen from Oregon State.
Notre Dame and USC each signed a top-10 player in the 2024 ESPNW recruiting rankings as well: forward Kate Koval (No. 5) with the Irish and guard Kennedy Smith (No. 6) with the Trojans. Koval's Long Island (N.Y.) Luthern teammate Kayleigh Heckel, a guard ranked No. 13 overall, also signed with USC. The Trojans signed six top 100 prospects.
Notre Dame should also benefit from the return of guard Olivia Miles, who missed the 2023-24 season with a torn ACL. Miles was named to the Associated Press All-America second team following the 2022-23 season.
Both Hidalgo and Watkins were named to the AP All-America first team as freshmen last season. Watkins set the national freshman scoring record with 920 points. Hidalgo set Notre Dame single-season records in points per game (22.6) and steals per game (4.6).
In Charlie Creme's Way-Too-Early Top 25 for the 2024-25 season, released on ESPN in May, he ranked USC at No. 2 and Notre Dame at No. 4. The Irish will also play home games against No. 3 UConn (TBA) and No. 6 Texas (Dec. 5).
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