Latino Sports will continue to shine light on the power, resilience, and heart of unstoppable women around the globe this March throughout Women’s History Month
BRONX, NY — There is no one better than Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s Hannah Hidalgo.
Earlier this week, the elite two-way sophomore guard of Merchantville, New Jersey, was named the 2024-2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, as well as this season’s ACC Defensive Player of the Year — an award the star-studded Afro-Latina with Puerto Rican heritage, won a year ago for 2023-2024.
After winning both awards earlier this week, Hidalgo posted on her X (Twitter) profile, “To God be The Glory! Thank You!” Image Credit: Larry C. Arreguin/Latino Sports
Back-to-back conference honors on the defensive end, in addition to taking home the 2023-2024 ACC Rookie of the Year award. Essentially, a clean sweep in her first two collegiate seasons of Women’s Basketball.
2023-2024 ACC Rookie of the Year
2023-2024 ACC Defensive Player of the Year
2024 ACC Tournament Champion & Tournament MVP
2024-2025 ACC Defensive Player of the Year
2024-2025 ACC Player of the Year (first-ever player to win the award in Notre Dame history)
“Hannah Hidalgo could end up being the greatest player to ever play in the ACC.” – ACC Network Analyst Kelly Gramlich
“She (Hidalgo) is one of the most tenacious and relentless on-ball defenders we’ve ever seen in college basketball.” – NBC Analyst LaChina Robinson
Winning both awards in the same given Women’s College Basketball campaign — the ACC POTY and ACC DPOTY — Hidalgo now joins Duke’s Lindsay Harding in 2007 and Virginia’s Monica Wright in 2010 as the only three players to ever do so.
In the totality of her dominant 2024-2025 campaign from coast to coast, directing the No. 6 ranked Fighting Irish to a current 25-4 overall record with 16 wins and two losses in ACC play, she has averaged the following clips in 27 games:
24.2 points per game (ranks fourth in the nation)
46.4 FG%, 40.1 3PT%, 86.2 FT%
5.3 rebounds per game
3.8 assists per game
3.7 steals per game (ranks fourth in the nation)
100 steals total, 25 more than any other player in the ACC
“Hannah is just a dog, she is one of the best two-way players,” Notre Dame’s head coach Niele Ivey recently said in an ESPN interview. “She plays with so much fire and passion. She’s fearless, plays with a ton of confidence, and it’s really contagious with our entire team.”
Fans are in awe when watching Hannah Hidalgo in action up close – Image Credit: Larry C. Arreguin/Latino Sports
A joy to watch on the court, box office with her performances. But off the hardwood, Hidalgo remains learning more about herself, particularly her rich Puerto Rican family heritage from her father’s side.
Noted in a recent article published on Andscape.com by Martenzie Johnson — “Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo is still discovering her Puerto Rican roots” — Hidalgo ‘loves Puerto Rican culture… Puerto Rican food, particularly pasteles and red beans and rice… the music of native musicians Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny.’
“Their music is always a vibe,” Hidalgo stated, later revealing she and her five siblings were not introduced to much of her father’s Puerto Rican traditions and culture while growing up.
The sky is the limit for Hannah Hidalgo – Image Credit: Larry C. Arreguin/Latino Sports
“It was not something that was shown when I was young,” she said. “My dad (Orlando, born in Camden, New Jersey, moving back and forth from Puerto Rico) didn’t teach us a lot about his life until we got older.”
To learn more on why, and Hidalgo’s amazing story, check out “Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo is still discovering her Puerto Rican roots” by Martenzie Johnson on Andscape.com
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