Merchantville Native Hannah Hidalgo Makes ACC History with Dual Player Awards
Notre Dame junior guard Hannah Hidalgo from Merchantville has become the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to win both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in consecutive seasons, according to the ACC's announcement of its 2025-26 postseason awards.
Notre Dame junior guard Hannah Hidalgo from Merchantville has become the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to win both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in consecutive seasons, according to the ACC’s announcement of its 2025-26 postseason awards.
The ACC released its award winners this week, with Hidalgo claiming the top individual honors for the second straight year. Her teammate Cassandre Prosper also earned recognition as the ACC’s Most Improved Player of the Year.
Hidalgo dominates on both ends of the court, leading the conference and ranking third nationally in scoring at 25.2 points per game, according to ACC statistics. On January 22, she became the fastest player in ACC history to reach 2,000 career points. She currently ranks second among active Division I players in total points with 2,281, a mark that places her 12th on the ACC’s all-time scoring list.
The Merchantville native’s weekly dominance has been unprecedented. On Monday, she won her seventh ACC Player of the Week award this season, the most in a single season in conference history, according to the ACC.
Defensively, Hidalgo has recorded 162 steals this season, the second most in ACC history. She sits just three steals away from breaking the ACC single-season record set by former Virginia standout Donna Holt in 1987. Her 162 steals this season exceed the combined total of 15 Division I teams this year, according to conference statistics.
This marks Hidalgo’s third consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award, joining Duke’s Elizabeth Williams as the only players in league history to win the honor three straight times.
Duke head coach Kara Lawson earned ACC Coach of the Year honors for the first time in her career after leading the Blue Devils to their first ACC outright regular-season championship since 2013. Duke finished with a 16-2 league record, its most conference wins since the 2012-13 season, according to the ACC.
After suffering six losses in their first nine games, the Blue Devils won 17 straight games to close the regular season at 21 wins and earn the No. 1 seed in this week’s ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Lawson becomes the first Duke coach to win ACC Coach of the Year since Joanne P. McCallie in 2013.
Syracuse’s Uche Izoje claimed ACC Rookie of the Year honors, becoming just the second Syracuse player to win the award, joining Kamilla Cardoso from 2021. The center from Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria, averages 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She ranks third in the ACC and leads league freshmen with 13 double-doubles this season, according to conference statistics.
Izoje earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors eight times this season, the most weekly honors by a Syracuse player in program history.
Louisville’s Imari Berry earned ACC Sixth Player of the Year honors, becoming the first Cardinal to win the award since Dana Evans in 2019. The guard from Clarksville, Tennessee, ranks third on her team in scoring at 10.7 points per game.
Berry’s standout performance came in Louisville’s 88-80 overtime victory over NC State on January 18, when she scored a career-high 33 points on 14-of-23 shooting while adding 12 rebounds and three steals. She was named ACC Player of the Week the following day.
The awards were determined by both coaches and the league’s Blue Ribbon Panel, marking the first time since 2021-22 that the All-ACC teams were split between the two groups, according to the ACC. Both the media and coaches’ All-ACC Teams featured the same award winners.