Hidalgo Named ACC Preseason Player of the Year – Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletic Site
CHARLOTTE – The ACC announced its 2025-26 preseason awards on Tuesday and Hannah Hidalgo took home the top honor, being named ACC Preseason Player of the Year as voted on by league coaches and media.
Freshman Leah Macy was also highlighted in the announcement, as she was named to the ACC Newcomer Watch List.
ACC Preseason Player of the Year – Hannah Hidalgo
A two-time AP First Team All-American, wood runner-up and ACC Player of the Year last season, Hidalgo enters her junior season in South Bend as the favorite to win the league’s top honor.
Hidalgo posted numbers that have not been seen this century on either the men’s or women’s side of NCAA DI play, becoming the only player to average at least 20.0 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game and 3.0 steals per game while shooting at least .400 from three-point range and .850 from the free throw line since 2000.
Hidalgo averaged 23.8 points per game during his sophomore campaign, breaking his own scoring record at Notre Dame in his first season (22.6). Additionally, Hidalgo joined Irish legend Arike Ogunbowale as the only players in Notre Dame history to post multiple 700-point seasons.
ACC Newcomer Watch List — Leah Macy
Macy comes to the Irish as a highly touted freshman from Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The five-star forward was ranked No. 19 (No. 4 forward) in the Class of 2025 according to ESPN and was a McDonald’s All-American and four-time first-team all-state selection at Bethlehem High School.
As a senior, Macy averaged 27 points, 13.4 rebounds, 8 assists and shot 64.6 percent from the floor.
In addition to individual honors, Notre Dame was picked fifth in the ACC preseason poll.
The Fighting Irish open the season at Purcell Pavilion with an exhibition Oct. 30 against Purdue Northwest at 7 p.m. and a home opener Nov. 5 against Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m.
