ATLANTA — Notre Dame phenom Hannah Hidalgo has been selected as a 2026 Naismith Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Thursday.
Hidalgo is one of just three players to earn both Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist nods, joining Lauren Betts and Sarah Strong.
The junior has already been named the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year following her stellar regular season.
The Merchantville, New Jersey, native is averaging 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.4 steals and 5.3 assists per game. Hidalgo is the only women’s player at the DI level since the 1999-00 season to average at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals per game in a season.
The junior has turned in many incredible performances this season while breaking records along the way. Hidalgo set the all-time record for steals in a game and the program’s single-game scoring record against Akron, finishing with 44 points and 16 rebounds. She has the career program scoring records for 30-point games (18), 20-point games (76) and consecutive games in double figures (99).
Hidalgo broke the program’s record for career steals (452) and season steals (173). The standout became the fastest player in ACC and program history to reach 2,000 career points, accomplishing the feat in 86 games.
In the final game of the regular season, Hidalgo recorded 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals in a road win over No. 10 Louisville, becoming the first ACC player to have 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game since 2001.
Hidalgo had a stretch to close out the regular season and begin ACC Tournament play with a career-high six straight 25+ point games, which is the most among all ACC players this century.
Hidalgo and the Fighting Irish will take on Fairfield in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 21 inside Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The game will air on ESPN.