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Hannah Hidalgo announces plans to 'run it back' at Notre Dame

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz04/09/26NickSchultz_7

Hannah Hidalgo isn’t going anywhere. The standout guard took to social media to announce her plans to “run it back” at Notre Dame next season.

Hidalgo is coming off another standout season at Notre Dame in 2025-26. She set career-highs with 25.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.6 steals while also adding 5.2 assists per game across 36 starts. For her efforts, she won the Nancy Lieberman Award and earned Naismith Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Now, Hidalgo has publicly confirmed she will be back at Notre Dame for her senior season. For Niele Ivey and the Irish, the centerpiece of the backcourt will remain in place after this year’s run to the Elite Eight.

During her three years in South Bend, Hidalgo became a two-time First Team All-American and earned Second Team All-America honors this past season. He is also the two-time reigning ACC Player of the Year, which shows how important her retention is for the Irish.

Hannah Hidalgo was instrumental in Notre Dame’s run to the Elite Eight for the first time under Ivey’s watch. The Fighting Irish had gotten to the Sweet Sixteen in back-to-back years before this season, but could not get into the Regional Final.

But after getting there, Hidalgo said the Irish are still hungry for more with the next goal of getting to the Final Four. While she acknowledged changes were likely coming to the roster in 2026-27, the new faces will need to have those same aspirations.

“I think it gives us motivation,” Hidalgo said after the season-ending loss to UConn. “It’ll be a different roster than it was this year. Completely different again. But we finally got over that hump. We didn’t do that for two years, the first two years that I’ve been here. So to be able to do that with this team when nobody thought we were going to get past the second round, first and foremost, it’s a testament to the God we serve and He’s able to open doors that no man can close. I’ll constantly say that.

“But we know that the people coming in next year, they’re going to have to raise their level because we know what it feels like to get to the Elite Eight. Now, we’re going to have to get over that hump, the same way we felt with getting to the Sweet Sixteen two, three times, and just wanting to get over that hump. Everybody’s going to have to raise their level of intensity.”