3 Reasons Why Notre Dame Women's Basketball Will Make the Final Four

Notre Dame's season opener is on Sunday in Italy against Villanova and there's no denying the fact expectations are high for the Irish.

ND brings backs its best player and future WNBA Lottery Pick in senior guard Hannah Hidalgo and added two key players via the transfer portal.

But despite making the NCAA Tournament four straight seasons under head coach Niele Ivey, the Irish have yet to make a deep tournament run.

Will that change this season?

Here's three reasons why ND is bound for the Final Four.

Hannah Hidalgo

Women's college basketball is full of star-laden players. Sarah Strong (UConn), Audi Crooks (Oklahoma State), Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), JuJu Watkins (USC), and of course ND's Hidalgo are all studs.

But what separates Hidalgo from all those players is that she's better than all of them defensively, which makes her the best two-way player in college basketball.

Hannah Hidalgo tonight (exhibition)

33 PTS
7 STL
5 REB
3 AST
14/21 FG
2/2 3PT

🐶🍀 pic.twitter.com/E0pzwjsrzr
— H 🍀 (@GrandTheftDalgo) October 27, 2026

Hidalgo looked great in ND's exhibition game against Truman State on Monday, and she could very well be the National Player of the Year. And if Notre Dame is going to get to the Final Four, they're going to need Hidalgo to be he best player in country.

She's more than capable of being that player, and one reason why ND has a legit shot at making the Final Four.

Transfer Portal Additions

Notre Dame has been a solid top 25 team over the last four seasons, but there's a big difference between being a top 25 team and a Final Four contender.

Ivey and her staff knew they needed to add some major players via the transfer portal to be a Final Four contender this year, and that's exactly what they did after landing two major transfers in Anaya Hardy (Louisville) and Madison St. Rose (Princeton).

Hardy is 6-3 forward who can play multiple positions on offense and guard multiple positions on defense. She's not exactly known for her offense but can play both inside the paint and outside on the perimeter, and she can really jump.

Notre Dame lands 6’3 forward Anaya Hardy, sophomore transfer from Louisville 🍀 #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/KS6iAaQUO3
— H 🍀 (@GrandTheftDalgo) April 17, 2026

Hardy could get some easy buckets in the pick and roll/pick and pop game with Hidalgo, and I'm excited to see how she does in South Bend this season.

As for St. Rose, she's a flat out scorer.

I’m loving this pick up by Notre Dame

Madison St. Rose will give the fighting Irish another shot creator to lean on and take some pressure off of their star, Hannah Hidalgo

Madison can create off the dribble and play off of Hannah as a shotmaker pic.twitter.com/Aeodwxws7h https://t.co/K5G5UVYxoJ
— Point Made Joshua (@pointmadejosh) April 19, 2026

St. Rose can create off the dribble but she can shoot it too, and should take some pressure off Hidalgo on the offensive end. Depending on who plays the point -- St. Rose or Hidalgo -- the other should get plenty of opportunities to score.

And considering Hidalgo has struggled to score at times, it probably makes sense for ND to lean on St. Rose to score.

Notre Dame needs both Hardy and St. Rose to have breakout seasons for the Irish to make the Final Four, and both have the potential to do so.

Strength of Schedule

Some might say ND's tough schedule hurts them in the long run, but I disagree. Playing a tough schedule should prepare the Irish for the National Tournament, where every team is tough.

Getting exposed to that type of competition right away is a good thing and in the long run, should benefit ND.

The Irish play nine Top 25 teams this year, including top-ranked South Carolina, No. 2 UConn, No. 3 USC, and No. 4 Duke.

Talk about a brutal schedule.

But as I said, that should only make ND better in the long run. If ND can win even just one of its four games against the top four teams, the Irish should have enough confidence going into the National Tournament that they can get to the Final Four, and who knows, maybe even win the whole thing.

Jared Shlensky's Take

Notre Dame needs a lot to go its way to make the Final Four, but at least the pieces are there for the Irish to get to the Final Four for the first time under Ivey.

Most importantly, Hidalgo needs to play like the best player in America for that to happen.

She has a better supporting cast now than ever, and that should help her and Irish immensely come March.

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