Who are Hannah Hidalgo's parents, Orlando and Tamara? What we know about Notre Dame guard's family

Notre Dame freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo is building plenty of buzz, and just like most ascending talents, a tale of family devotion and commitment lies behind the rise.

Hidalgo scored a career-high 34 points and added 10 rebounds and six assists to lead Notre Dame over then-No. 8 Connecticut 82-67 on Saturday. The five-star recruit who was named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List is delivering on all her promise.

Basketball is a staple in the Hidalgo household. Inside or outside.

"We have a half-court in our backyard, so we'd play two-on-two, one-on-one; and we have a little mini-court upstairs, so we would play two-on-two up there," Hidalgo told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.

Hidalgo’s father, Orlando Hidalgo, is a longtime high school coach, and his two youngest children may be his best prodigies.

Hidalgo has won two gold medals for the U.S. in the Under-19 World Cup in Spain this summer, being named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, and in the Under-17 World Cup in Hungary in 2022. Meanwhile, her younger brother, Judah, won a bronze medal for Puerto Rico in the FIBA U16 Americas Championship this summer in Mexico.

Hidalgo is averaging 24.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and a nation-leading 5.1 steals per game at No. 14 Notre Dame (15-4). She’s been a national player of the week twice and has dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference’s weekly rookie awards. Hidalgo and Iowa superstar Caitlin Cark are the only two major conference players averaging 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.

Her 97 steals already rank third-best in a single season in school history, surpassing her coach, Niele Ivey (mother of Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey), who held the third and fourth spots. And she doesn’t have far to go to pass WNBA star Skylar Diggins, who holds the top two spots (114 and 102). She also holds the school’s single-season mark for most 20-point games (17).

To explore this budding hoop star's background, let's focus on her key fans, her parents.

Who are Hannah Hidalgo's parents?

Her parents, Orlando Hidalgo and Tamara Williams-Hidalgo, were both basketball players, according to Slam magazine.

Orlando Hidalgo is the girls basketball coach at Paul VI in Haddonfield, N.J. He took that post in 2021, coaching Hannah as a junior and senior.

Before that, he was the head coach of the boys varsity team at the Life Center Academy In Burlington Township, N.J., from June 2018 after many years at the school working as the middle school head coach, junior varsity head coach and varsity coach. (Hannah went to Life Central Middle School, according to The Orange, the student newspaper at Syracuse.)

Orlando Hidalgo also coached on the AAU level: Team Final, Philly Triple Threat, We R 1 and Boro Blitz, according to a Facebook post from LCA. According to Slam, he worked with LA Lakers guard/forward Cam Reddish with Team Flight.

Tamara Williams-Hidalgo is an assistant chief probation officer for the state of New Jersey, according to her LinkedIn account. She graduated from Thomas Edison State, which does not have athletics.

"My dad knows what he’s talking about, so it’s been great,” Hannah Hidalgo said. “During games, it’s easy for me to come forward and speak up if I see something on the court."

Hannah Hidalgo's history of basketball success

Hannah Hidalgo's transition to college basketball at Notre Dame was marked by an outstanding debut on Nov. 6, when she had 31 points, three assists and three steals in a 100-71 loss to then-No. 6 South Carolina in Paris.

She matched the program's single-game record for steals with 12 against NJIT. On Dec. 21, she recorded her first triple-double, showcasing her all-around skills with 26 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals in a win over Western Michigan. That was the highest-scoring triple-double in Notre Dame history.

Hidalgo leads the ACC in scoring average and steals. She’s third in assists per game and minutes per game (35.07).

Hidalgo grew up competing against her three brothers as well as the boys her father coached, according to The Observer, the student-run serving Notre Dame and two other colleges.

Hannah’s younger brother, Judah, is a 6-foot-5 junior forward for Paul VI. He played for Puerto Rico in the FIBA U16 Americas Championship and won bronze this summer in the Yucatan, Mexico.

Hidalgo, who averaged 28.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.1 apg and 7.3 spg as a senior at Paul VI, was the 2023 Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year and ranked as the No. 5 recruit nationwide by ESPN. She was named co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-America Game with a record-breaking 26 points and a record-tying eight steals.

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