CHARLOTTE -- Notre Dame All-American guard Hannah Hidalgo said it was a "no brainer" she would return to the Irish for her senior year, never once considering other offers to potentially transfer.
"It was a no brainer that I was going to come back for my senior year just because the family that I built here, I feel like I would never get what I have here at another school," Hidalgo told ESPN. "The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Everyone's always chasing the next best thing. Another school is always going to have more and more. They're going to have more money, and they might have better players, a better system, whatever it may be. But I wouldn't get all the things that I have here at Notre Dame."
Hidalgo has thrived with the Irish, winning ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors in each of the last two seasons -- the first player in league history to win both awards in back-to-back years. She helped lead Notre Dame to its first Elite Eight appearance last season since 2019, but now she wants to finish out her career with a national championship.
Coach Niele Ivey said the transfer portal additions the Irish made this offseason were done to build around Hidalgo. Perhaps the most important addition is guard Madison St. Rose, a transfer from Princeton, who played AAU basketball with Hidalgo in New Jersey. It was Hidalgo, in fact, who put on her recruiting hat and called St. Rose to recruit her to transfer to the Irish.
"She is the perfect complement," Ivey said. "They played together before. They know each other really well. She's a three-level scorer, and she's also got great experience in the backcourt. She's extremely smart. She plays both sides of the ball, so she's a really good defender. She's got a good size. She's a big guard, and she has a great 3-point shot. I think that complements Hannah well."
Notre Dame is a much younger team than a year ago after signing a large freshman class, so Hidalgo has taken on a larger leadership role to help all the new players understand the expectations that not only come with playing for Notre Dame but going further in the NCAA tournament this year.
"We got a taste of what it means to get over that Sweet 16 hump, but I feel like there's definitely a sense of urgency with me being a senior," Hidalgo said. "We have the pieces to do it right now, and not even just to make it to a Final Four, but to go to the national championship and win it all. That's the goal."