The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been playing well throughout the season. They are now heading into the NCAA Tournament as a six-seed and are hoping to make a run at the national championship. Notre Dame has had an impressive season and made the tournament as an at-large bid as their leader Hannah Hidalgo led the way statistically. With the NCAA Tournament tipping off, let’s take a look at one outlet’s rankings of players in March Madness and where the Fighting Irish players rank.
Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo ranks third in top players in Women’s NCAA Tournament
Ahead of the 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament, the Sports Illustrated staff wrote a list of the top 68 players competing for the national championship. Only one member of the Fighting Irish made the list in junior guard Hannah Hidalgo. Below is the snippet the staff provided about her selection:
“Atlas shrugged. Hidalgo hasn’t. After Notre Dame lost Olivia Miles to TCU and Sonia Citron to the WNBA, Hidalgo has taken on an intense workload (36.2 minutes per game) and single-handedly ensured the Fighting Irish remained a Top 25 team. She’s a game-wrecker on both ends of the floor, best illustrated by her NCAA-high 5.4 steals per game.”
Hidalgo has been having an excellent season for Notre Dame as the junior is carrying the workload. She is averaging 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 5.4 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 36.2 minutes. Hidalgo is also shooting the basketball at a strong clip as she has a 48.1/25.0/83.5 shooting split in 36.2 minutes per game. The only two players ranked above her are UConn’s Sarah Strong and Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes.
Notre Dame’s first-round matchup is on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET as they take on 11th-seed Fairfield in Regional 1. It will be intriguing to see how far Hidalgo can help bring the program in the NCAA Tournament as the six-seed in March Madness this year. We could also be seeing the final games of some stars at the collegiate level.
Hannah Hidalgo says Notre Dame won’t be ‘starstruck’ by UConn in Elite 8
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