Hannah Hidalgo announces return to Notre Dame for senior season

The announcement comes after Hidalgo had a historic season and outstanding NCAA Tournament for Notre Dame. While she isn’t eligible for the WNBA Draft yet, she’s now confirmed that she won’t transfer for her final college season.

She led all Division I players this season with 5.6 steals per game and was named the both the Naismith and ACC Defensive Player of the Year as well as ACC Player of the Year.

She also set the NCAA record for a junior with 202 steals while putting up a blistering 25.3 points per game.

In this year’s tournament, she dropped 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals to lead Notre Dame to an upset victory over Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16.

In the Elite Eight, the Fighting Irish fell to UConn as Hidalgo put up 22 points and 11 rebounds. She’ll now lead a stacked Notre Dame team next season while being projected as a lottery pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft.

James Parker contributed to this story.