Notre Dame freshman Hannah Hidalgo one of four Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalists
Hannah Hidalgo is one step closer to being named the best defensive player in the country. The Notre Dame freshman point guard was named a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist on Tuesday, one of just four players across the country to make the exclusive cut.
Hidalgo is on a prestigious list alongside Stanford senior forward Cameron Brink, South Carolina senior center Kamilla Cardoso and Ohio State graduate student guard Celeste Taylor. A 2024 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year winner will be announced ahead of the Final Four in the first week of April.
Hidalgo is the youngest of the quartet. She’s also the shortest at 5’6″. Taylor is 5’11”, Brink is 6’4″ and Cardoso is 6’7″. Brink leads the nation with 109 blocks. Cardoso is tied for 15th with 74. Hidalgo has more steals than anyone else nationwide with 147. Taylor is tied for 56th with 70.
Since Naismith started awarding a defensive player of the year honor in 2018, it’s typically gone to post players. Mississippi State center Teaira McCowan took home the first one. South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston won it in each of the last two seasons. The only guard who’s ever claimed it was Baylor’s DiDi Richards in 2020.
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If Hidalgo brought it back to South Bend, she’d be in rare air.
There’s no denying what Brink has done as a shot blocker for the Cardinal, but Hidalgo’s ability to take the ball away from anyone in opposing threads is undeniable too. She’s recorded at least 2 steals in all but one of 32 games played this season. Her average has dipped slightly as of late, but it’s still sitting at 4.6. Nobody in Notre Dame history has come close to such a mark.
The previous record for steals in a Notre Dame season was set by Skylar Diggins. She had 114 as a senior in 2012-13. Diggins played in 124 games for the Irish and had 6+ steals in eight of those, which also stood as a program record for more than a decade. Hidalgo has had 11 such games heading into the NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 seed Notre Dame (26-6) begins tournament play this Saturday at 2:15 p.m. ET against No. 15 seed Kent State (21-10). Winner takes on the victor of No. 7 seed Ole Miss (23-8) vs. No. 10 seed Marquette (23-8), which will tip off 30 minutes after the Irish and Golden Flashes at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind.
