"She's going to be the face of women's basketball": Notre Dame's Niele Ivey puts the spotlight on Hannah Hidalgo ahead of 2025-26 season

Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo had a stellar season last year for the Fighting Irish and was a Wooden Award finalist. She averaged 23.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.7 steals for Notre Dame last season and joined a list of only three players to have ever earned back-to-back AP First Team All-American honors alongside Courtney Paris, Maya Moore and JuJu Watkins.

During Tuesday's segment of "SportsCenter," Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey backed the fiery Hidalgo to be the face of women's college basketball next season.

"Well, she's (Hidalgo) gonna be the best player in the game," Ivey said. "She's ready for it, a rising junior, somebody that has exploded on the stage since her freshman year, coming off of an incredible sophomore year. She's ready for it and I'm excited that she's going to be the face of women's basketball 'cause she's earned it and deserves it.

"I think she's going to be phenomenal. She wants it, she's hungry for that role and she's got a chance to see it from a lot of different perspectives and she has that energy, she has that excitement. She's a leader regardless because of the way she plays and now, she gets the chance to be an upperclassman, somebody that's got the experience and she's gotta be more vocal, all eyes are on her and she's excited for that position."

Hannah Hidalgo will have plenty of competition for the face of women's college basketball tag. Several returning stars, including Wooden Award winner USC Trojans standout JuJu Watkins and the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, UConn Huskies' Azzi Fudd, have staked a claim to the title with their performances last season.

Hannah Hidalgo stayed loyal to Notre Dame

Coach Niele Ivey's Notre Dame roster suffered mass departures after the season ended with four players leaving via the transfer portal, including the eye-popping decision by Olivia Miles to forego the WNBA Draft and join the TCU Horned Frogs.

Three Fighting Irish players left for the WNBA while two exhausted their eligibility, leaving the Notre Dame roster threadbare. However, Hannah Hidalgo stayed put and will be the key for Ivey next season as they attempt to recreate the highs of the past season.

Last season, the Fighting Irish were one of the best teams in the country for a huge chunk of the season, including a 19-game winning streak which culminated in a No. 1 ranking. The retention of Hannah Hidalgo will be crucial to Niele Ivey's rebuilding job in South Bend next season.