Notre Dame Star Hannah Hidalgo Earns Rare Distinction With ACC Award Wins

Notre Dame standout Hannah Hidalgo's name was all over the ACC postseason awards.

Mar 2, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) reacts in the first half against the Louisville Cardinals at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo had an undeniably great regular season for the Irish, and her efforts were certainly recognized when it came to individual ACC awards. Not only was Hidalgo named to the All-ACC First Team, but she also secured Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors for the conference.

Hidalgo winning these awards shouldn't come as a surprise given she is in the running for National Player of the Year, trailing perhaps only USC's JuJu Watkins in that race. And since her tenacious defense has been a standout part of her game all season, resulting in an average of 3.7 steals per game.

𝐀𝐝𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬

👑 2025 Player of the Year
👑 2025 Defensive Player of the Year
👑 2024 Rookie of the Year
👑 2024 Defensive Player of the Year@ndwbb x #AccomplishGreatness pic.twitter.com/Oyks19c7R2

— ACC Women's Basketball (@accwbb) March 4, 2025

But in receiving the deserved recognition, Hidalgo earned a rare distinction. Because according to the ACC, she is only the third player in conference history to win both the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season (the others being Duke’s Lindsay Harding in 2007 and Virginia’s Monica Wright in 2010).

Hidalgo has already compiled a long list of ACC accolades in her short college career. The sophomore also won defensive honors a season ago, as well as Rookie of the Year. So it appears inevitable she will continue to compile hardware until she is eligible for the WNBA.

However, one would imagine the trophy Hidalgo most covets would be a national championship. Notre Dame is currently ranked No. 6 after a brief stint in the top spot earlier in the season. If she's able to lead the Irish back to number one at the end of March Madness, Hidalgo will garner bragging rights beyond the ACC.