Notre Dame PG Hannah Hidalgo adds rare All-America accolade to her freshman ledger
There’s a case to be made that NCAA women’s basketball has never been better than it is right now. Only five freshmen have ever been named First Team All-Americans by the Associated Press since the inception of the accolade in 1994-95. Two of them, including Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, were added to that prestigious grouping Wednesday afternoon.
Hidalgo is on this year’s AP First Team with fellow freshman Juju Watkins of USC, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Stanford’s Cameron Brink and UConn’s Paige Bueckers. The three other players who made the First Team as freshmen were Bueckers in 2021, Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris in 2006 and UConn’s Maya Moore in 2008.
Hidalgo’s name has been thrown around among those of all-time greats throughout this season for good reason. She’s the nation’s third-leading scorer at 23.3 points per game behind Clark (31.9) and Watkins (27.0). She’s doing things defensively that Clark and Watkins can’t hold a candle to as well; Hidalgo leads the country with 147 steals entering the NCAA Tournament. She’s one of four Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalists.
“She deserves to be listed amongst the best in women’s basketball,” Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said per the AP’s release. “Hannah is a fierce competitor and an elite performer who rises to the occasion and has been extremely consistent and dominant this season.”
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Hidalgo is Notre Dame’s first First Team All-American since Jewell Loyd in 2015. Kayla McBride, Skylar Diggins and Ruth Riley are the only other Notre Dame players who have ever been named First Team All-Americans by the AP. The team is decided by the same 35 members of the national media panel that comes up with each week’s AP Top 25.
Hidalgo, who’s top 25 nationally in assists per game at 5.5 and among the nation’s best rebounding guards at 6.4 per game, also earned All-America nods from The Athletic, Sporting News, ESPN and USBWA. She leads Notre Dame (26-6) into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. The Irish begin play Saturday at 2:15 p.m. ET (ESPN) against No. 15 seed Kent State (21-10).
“I’m excited,” Hidalgo said. “We’re going dancing, so that’s really exciting. I’m just excited to play another game with my teammates and to go as far as we possibly can.”
