Notre Dame sophomore Hannah Hidalgo has enjoyed an explosive season this year, and there's no reason to expect her to slow down anytime soon. Hidalgo has also continued to rack up awards, honors, and records, and notably was named the ACC Preseason Player of the Year and the ACC Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season.
As a freshman, Hidalgo was also the NCAA's leader in steals — she had 4.6 per game and 160 total during the 2023-24 season, and she's well on her way to maintaining that title this year, too.
The honor is one that Fever superstar Caitlin Clark never hit, which makes it all the more special for Hidalgo, who has two more years left in her collegiate career.
Hannah Hidalgo revels in stealing the ball
In January 2024 Hidalgo told the Associated Press, "I think the whole sequence of picking somebody’s pocket is definitely my favorite. Anticipating, making a move like a crossover, just having my hand ready to deflect it, then going on the fast breaking and bringing that energy from my defense."
In comparison, steals were not Clark's forte during her collegiate career. She averaged 1.3, 1.5, 1.5, and 1.7 steals each season at Iowa (with a career average of 1.5) for a total of 210 — something Hidalgo nearly pulled off in one year.
Clark was the only rookie with 20 blocks and 20 steals during last year's WNBA season, and she added on 5 of those steals in one game (against the Mystics in July 2024), but her 2024 steals per game average was still right where it was in college: 1.3.
Hidalgo has racked up other honors this season
In March Hidalgo was named ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. She is the fourth sophomore from Notre Dame to earn the conference's top award (the three others were Jewell Loyd, Kayla McBride, and Brianna Turner). This was also her second year in a row to be named ACC Player of the Year.
Hidalgo is also the only player in the program's history to earn 600 or more points in both her freshman and sophomore season and set the sophomore record for steals with 100 — also just the fourth time in the school's history that a Notre Dame player has had 100 steals in a single season.
It's clear the Notre Dame sophomore is a prodigious talent on the court (and definitely a menace in the making), and all eyes will be on Hannah Hidalgo in the 2027 WNBA Draft.