Hannah Hidalgo On Notre Dame Wnba Dreams Teaming Up With Caitlin Clark

Kaitlyn is a phenomenal player. I'm a big fan of hers and so to be able to you know team up with

her who changed you know the game will honestly be something that was so great to you know kind

of team up alongside him. That might be too much fire on the court. I don't know if fans can handle

that. What's up you guys? I'm Rachel Namita and welcome to the Courtside Club. Today we have

another interview for you. I am so excited to welcome Hannah Hidalgo on the Courtside Club.

As you guys know she is one of my favorite players in women's college basketball. I just

think that she is so exciting. I love her game. Notre Dame is having a killer season. They are

currently number three in the AP ratings and I was so excited to get to talk to Hannah. We talked

about all things Notre Dame, her teammates, her WNBA dreams, what celebrities have reached out

to her and have been to her games and also her time coaching with Kaitlyn Clark and if she ever

wants to play with her.

So honestly you guys Hannah is just such a sweet girl. We had a great conversation and I hope that

you guys enjoy the interview. Hannah Hidalgo welcome to the Courtside Club. Thank you. It's

a pleasure to be here. You guys are having an incredible season so far. You're sitting at

number three in the standings. How are you feeling about the season so far? Yeah honestly I think that

we're clicking really well right now and I feel like we have so much more potential and we haven't

even reached our

our max peak yet but you know I think we're getting there. We're moving along really well

especially in conference play. We're handling our business and so honestly it's honestly just a

blessing to have everyone back right now. I have to ask we're going to start off hot in this

interview. Are we going to see you in the final four? Prayerfully that's the goal especially with

all my teammates, my coaches. You know we're here to win. We're trying to keep the main thing the

main thing and you know it's not even just to get to the final four but it's to win the national

championship.

You guys have the momentum right now. I'm loving the chemistry, the energy between you guys. Is there

anything that you do off the court that has contributed to you guys clicking like you are now?

Yeah absolutely. I think we're being a lot more intentional this year with getting together and

spending time together as a team. We do bible studies. Every person goes and hosts a bible

study and it's different for each person so we're just rotating and I think that's something that

has really helped build that chemistry because it's something that's so intimate.

It's something different from just basketball. We can connect on different cylinders and you know

just lock in with each other in a different aspect. It gives you like that greater purpose also when

you guys are going on the court. So there there are two games that really stood out to me this

season. You probably know where I'm going with this but your team rises to the occasion on these

big games. I'm talking about UConn. I'm talking about USC. How do you guys as a team and how do

you specifically prepare for those games when all the bright lights are on?

Yeah I think it's just I think it starts in practice. Just being locked in practice and I

know for every game we try and be locked in but especially those big games we're very intentional

what we do in practice. Everyone's focused. Everyone's locked in from you know the starters

to the next people to even the managers. Like everybody's just so locked in especially when

we come to those big games. All the coaches are locked in for the scout and everything like that

so it's really just a mindset and it starts a week before the game.

Is there anything special that you do before those games? Do you do anything to calm your nerves

or is it just in your nature? Like this is what I live for.

I think like before I know before every game I'm always praying just for the Lord's peace. I pray

with my parents and everything like that but especially those big games I you know I don't

want to get too much in my head so I make sure I take that time to get away from social media,

delete social media and just really focus in on my time with Christ so I can really lock in and

you know kind of have that time to get back in.

That's interesting because social media is just obviously such a big part of this world right now

and it it's a lot of ways it's it's great in a lot of ways and then other ways it can be

distracting so to hear that you're able to take that step back from social media that's cool.

It's big very big.

So can we talk about what the scouting report is like when you are going up against players

like a Paige Beckers, like a Juju Watkins, some of the biggest names in women's basketball?

Yeah.

I think the biggest thing for us is to kind of be on a string making sure that you know

if Sony's guarding the best player making sure that everyone else is locked in to making sure

they're helping Sony because she has to guard you know this player sometimes for 40 minutes so it's

like you know we got to help Sony out.

Sony's playing hard on defense we have to be there to help her out and whoever it is next

it might be Leah Tu who's you know guarding the next best player so it's like we got to make sure

that we're on the string and we're helping each other out we're not playing selfishly focusing

about our man.

It seems like your team loves defense and defense in a sense is is become a lost art I feel

like in modern basketball.

Why do you guys click on defense and for you specifically you're somebody who's a smaller

guard and your defense is outstanding.

I love it.

Well I think that's just it especially for me personally I'm a smaller guard so it's

like I have to bring something different from these guards who are six foot and up you know

like.

They they have the height and they can score it's like I have to be able to bring something

different and as you know I can score but I'm undersized so I'm gonna do something else I'm

gonna lock up on defense and it's just a different part of the game that not every player has it's

normally either one or the other so just honing in on defense and making sure that you know that's

our core is something that's so big because ultimately defense wins championships you know

we have the ability to score but it's like can we get stops also while putting the ball in the

basket and so if we're just training baskets.

We're gonna win games like that but you know it's about getting the stops and then running in

transition because that's really our bread and butter.

So when did your love of defense or your focus on defense happen for you has this been something

like since you were younger you said okay I'm gonna lock in on this is this.

Yeah yeah when I was younger playing a you it's something that I can control you know I can't

control the rest I can't control my offense and how I might be scoring or you know things like

that but defense is something I can always control and working hard you know it's just

something that's internal and you know you again you can control that and so when I was younger

being the smallest person in the core again I had to do something differently and so the defense

aspect was something that kept me on the court.

Did it feel like when you were younger and I know this is what I'm five eight played D one and I was

like the third shortest on my team and I always felt and I wasn't great on defense I'll just tell

you that so I like feel for you when I watch you play I'm like I don't think people realize how

special she truly is to make an impact like this when you are like the the girls you're facing up

against are probably no shorter than five eight for the most part was there ever a time when you're

coming up you know your goals of playing in college when you thought that it might not work

out for you just because of your size? No that was never a thought in my mind I know for other

people some people who might have even had you know close access to me probably thought that I

wouldn't make it higher than than D two but you know that was never a thought in my mind I know

honestly growing up I wasn't really worried about you know making it to college or you know

a dream school or what college I was going to go to and I think that really helped me especially

throughout the process because I didn't have my mind set on one school you know my whole idea was

just like whatever God blesses me with is kind of what I'm going to take and I'm going to be

grateful for whatever he gives me so I'm not focusing too much on that and just you know

playing basketball while you're young basketball is supposed to be fun you know it's not supposed

to be a chore it's supposed to be a hobby something that you enjoy doing so I think

it's important to have that mindset so I kind of went out with that mindset every time I mean it

still seems like you're having a lot of fun yeah so I think it's working out for you have fun with

your work how do you feel about those Allen Iverson comparisons yeah A.R. was a great player

honestly I watched a lot of his highlights when I was growing up you know so he was lethal but

it's a blessing to be able to be compared to you know greats like him or you know Skyler just some

you know dog players like them was there any NBA players that you thought would be a great player

or WNBA player that you really looked up to when you were coming up growing up not not so much I

didn't really watch um basketball too much until I was a junior and when I started watching I was

watching like Aerie McDonald when she was going on her run during the playoffs and when she made

it to the championship so smaller players like her I really looked up to when I really started

watching because she was so much smaller than everyone else but she made such an impact for

her team that's kind of crazy to me that you say like I didn't have a dream school necessarily

and you were just you were open to what God's plan was and to just have to to see you have come so

far and in my eyes become the number one player in the country I'm just so impressed with your

game and how you've been leading your team to put it all up to God's hands I just that's pretty cool

and pretty special thank you it definitely keeps me grounded for sure it definitely keeps me humble

to make sure I'm not like oh I did this because of me or this is all because of me I'm carrying

my team like it it's never that you know

can we talk about your energy on the court where does that stem from it's unmatched I feel like

you're never tired you're always you got a smile on your face you're getting your team hype you're

getting your fans hype right where does that stem from um when I was younger I used to watch my

cousin and you know I didn't really have I feel like I didn't have that dog mentality you know

I was quiet I did what I needed to do on the court and then off the court I would just go home and

it was just it was very chill you know it was very chill out in public but then I watched

my my cousin and I saw him catch alley-oop and dunk it and then he was just screaming he was

extremely energetic and it was just like it was exciting it was so exciting to watch and it was

like man I want to do that and I didn't start doing that until I was in high school was when

I really started to kind of hone in on that you know that energetic side and you know getting the

fans hype and you know doing between the legs layups and stuff like that during games things

like that it wasn't really until high school but I think it's just a matter of making sure that

you're having fun while still playing the game about it and I think it's just a matter of making sure

basketball and I think that's the biggest thing that's why I'm always smiling and you know laughing

on the court I talk trash a little bit here but honestly it's all just fun and games it's just

entertaining for me you know it's supposed to be fun so how were you able to balance the fun

and the hard work because there are going to be those days when you are tired you don't want to

put in the extra hours and I'm sure for you to get to the place that you are now you've put in a lot

of extra hours that a lot of other players haven't so where is that motivation how have you balanced

the two like through high school how have you balanced the two like through high school how have

you balanced the two like through high school and now in college as well yeah I feel like you

you have to work hard honestly my whole mindset was I want to be the greatest I want to be

the best of the best you know I want to compete with the best of the best and so

that took a lot of hours in the gym I feel like I didn't really start like enjoying and having fun

with the game until now when I got to college but you know all through high school it was business

it was you know hard work it was being the underdog it was you know staying in the gym

late hours while everyone else might be home sleeping you know doing school like things like

that it was like you know being in the gym for hours go home do your work you know kind of go

to sleep like things like that but that was really my mindset all throughout high school and I feel

like once I got to college it was like okay now I can really start it start to reap the reap the

benefits of kind of the work I put in so in your game right now do you feel like there is something

that you could improve on or something you're working on improving on yeah absolutely there's

a whole bunch of aspects of my game I can improve on I can improve on I can improve on I can improve on

my turnover is the first thing I can name off off the top of my head um just making sure I'm

taking better care of the ball um three point percentage is something that I can always

improve on um of course it's improved from last year but just being even more consistent um

getting my teammates involved making you know better passes better reads there's a whole bunch

of aspects of my game that I can improve on we talk about a lot in basketball obviously the stat

lines right

you had a couple 30 point games recently but in my eyes it doesn't seem like you are walking onto

the court thinking score first and you correct me if I'm wrong it seems like you take those moments

when you have them but you are a facilitator for your team how do you balance okay this is when I

need to take over this is when I need to put the ball in the basket or what is your mindset when

you go on the court and with your team yeah stepping on the court honestly it's my whole

mindset is I want to do whatever I need to do to win I want to do whatever I need to do to win

in whether that's scoring 30 uh being that dog being that aggressive on offense or if it's like

getting defensive stops and throwing the outlet in transition like making passes making reads

honestly I'm just here to do whatever I need to do to help make my teammates lives easier and help us

to you know win each game day by day and you got some great teammates surrounding you so

have you met this just popped into my mind because my cat just went out of here have

Have you met Olivia's cat?

I did, yeah, yeah.

I met him when they first got him.

So he's been around.

His name is Bean.

He's been around all the time.

Cute.

I love it.

I love a little dorm room cat.

You talked about you wanted to be the greatest.

Have you thought yet about your WNBA dreams?

Honestly, not too much.

I focus on the right here, right now.

You know, kind of focus on where my feet are at right now.

Just taking in the moment and not worrying about, you know,

the future or the past, just being present with where I'm at.

You're talking about taking in the moment.

Has there been a moment this season where you're on the court

and you just felt so grateful, so proud to be where you were standing?

Absolutely.

I think I try and think of that every game.

But I think especially after I sprained my ankle

and not playing for two games, it was like I was so, like, eager to get back.

It was like I really wanted to get back.

And it was just the game that I did come back, I was like, man,

I was only out for two games, but, like, it felt so long.

And so just being so appreciative and, you know,

really thanking God that I really had the ability to play the game

every single day.

Love that.

Okay, Hannah, so here on the Courtside Club,

we like to take a little halftime break,

and I want to do a game of starting fives with you if you're down.

Awesome.

Okay.

So I want to know your starting five NBA players of all time.

Oh, Jesus.

Of all time.

Okay, we're going to do LeBron because he's the best to me.

LeBron.

We're going to go Shaq.

I'm going to do – matter of fact, I'll do AI.

Love it.

AI.

That's my favorite player of all time.

We'll do Curry and Giannis.

I like it.

That's pretty solid.

So do you have Curry at the one or AI at the one?

I'm going to put – I'm going to do AI at the one.

We'll put Curry on that.

Curry at the two.

He can run off of screens.

He can light it up from three for you guys.

He can come off all the snaggers.

He can bring the – you know, me and Liv play the one and the two.

We can, you know, do a little bit of that action too.

Love it.

Okay, so now I want to know your starting five WNBA players of all time.

I just did this the other day.

Jeez.

I might mix it up.

I say BG.

Brittany, Brittany, I'm going to do – I'm going to go Sky, Asia, K-Mac.

Come on, help me out.

A top two?

A top two.

I mean, you could throw Amaya Moore in there.

You could –

Yeah, she was – can I put me?

Can I go me at the two?

Sure.

If this is you confirming your WNBA.

WNBA dreams right here.

Me at the two.

So we have just confirmed on Courtside Club, Hannah Hidalgo's WNBA dreams.

The – I guess what would that be?

The 2025, 26, 27 draft.

27 draft.

Okay.

And then she will be in that starting five WNBA players of all time.

We'll take it.

We'll take it.

We'll take it.

This is such an exciting time for women's basketball with –

NIL, obviously, the growth of the WNBA.

What excites you the most about this time for women's sports?

Oh, definitely the recognition that women are getting now.

I know definitely growing up, a big reason why I didn't watch women's basketball

is always hearing, like, women shouldn't be playing basketball.

Women's basketball is boring.

You know, just women's sports in general.

And just to see how much recognition we're getting from everyone,

from, you know, NBA players, from all types of male sports, all types of fans.

It's something that –

It's so inspiring.

And it's really encouraging to finally see the recognition we're getting.

Have you noticed it at all in your first two seasons at Notre Dame,

like a little uptick in just the love that you get on social

or the people in the stands?

Have you noticed it?

Yeah, absolutely.

And I feel like I noticed it once before I even put on a Notre Dame jersey

when I was just walking campus, just having people, like,

come up and ask for pictures.

They never see me play on a Notre Dame court or anything like that.

But they were just coming up saying they love women's basketball.

They've been fans for years and, you know,

kind of get an autograph and things like that.

So, yeah, I've seen it before I even put the jersey on.

So, let's talk about you choosing Notre Dame.

It came down to – can you tell me the handful of schools that it came down to?

Yeah, it was Notre Dame, Duke, Stanford, Ohio State.

Okay, so some big names there.

What put Notre Dame ahead of the rest?

The chemistry, I felt.

Well, I'm a big family person.

And once I got on campus for my official visit, we went to Coach Ivey's house.

And it just really seemed like a family, you know.

Charlotte Lewis, she's a member on staff here.

And I just – I remember her from my visit.

Even, like, when I went home weeks later, I was like, it was this woman.

She just had so much energy.

But, you know, it really felt like a family.

And even for Coach Ivey, she was the biggest reason that I came here.

She was so consistent throughout the whole recruitment process.

She really made me feel.

You know, welcome and wanted and, you know, at home.

And so that was the biggest thing when I was choosing was, you know,

what coach do I feel the best connection with?

Where can I really feel at home?

It's hard, right?

Because I feel like a lot of girls might not know.

When you go into that recruiting process,

there are some schools that will just tell you what you want to hear.

Absolutely.

So trying to decipher, okay, what is the best fit for me?

Is there any advice that you would give to younger girls who are getting recruited right now

when it's time for them to make that decision?

Yeah, absolutely.

And that's something that's so big because that's what I heard

when I was going through my recruitment process was, you know,

coaches are going to do whatever they can to get you at the school.

And then once you're there, it's like on to the next.

You know, like you're just a regular player now.

But it's not like that here at Notre Dame.

You know, like Coach Ivey, she takes care of each and every single one of her players.

Every player is different.

And she makes sure to have a connection with each player.

And she's really a player's coach.

But, you know, I think the biggest thing that was,

for me when I was going through the process

and for younger girls that are going through the process now,

is to ask outside sources.

You know, like ask people that might have transferred.

Ask, you know, people who might know the program and things like that.

Like, you know, what type of person is this coach?

You know, how is the staff?

Like, how is the team?

Like, what's the dynamic?

Things like that.

Because, you know, you can really get a lot.

You're only going to see one side from the school that's recruiting you.

But you'll really get the truth from other people

who might have transferred or who are outside sources.

But also another thing is people have different experiences with colleges.

So it's big to make sure you're asking multiple people.

Another Notre Dame alum, Arike.

So I heard in that game winner that she hit, you were rooting against her.

I was, absolutely.

And now you guys are buds.

Yes, I was.

I wasn't watching women's basketball like that.

I know.

I was younger.

So, yeah, I was just like, what team is everybody cheering for?

Okay, I'm going to cheer against them.

Probably.

So what was that like when you met Arike?

So I saw a clip where you announced you're announcing your partnership with Red Bull.

Arike is also with Red Bull.

You guys met.

She surprised you.

And it almost looked like you sized her up a little bit.

You said, wait a second.

You're a little shorter.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You got competitive immediately.

Absolutely.

It was really just, I heard you were like 5'10", 5'11".

Like, you're almost like my height.

So it was just like, it was really just like, man, you did all the stuff that you did.

Like, and you're still doing all the things that you're doing now in the W.

And you're like, my height.

And it was like, I didn't expect her to, you know, be almost my height.

I thought she was, you know, towering over me.

Do you know they like to add a couple inches on the roster?

Yeah, they do.

But they throw mine down.

I'm really like 5'7".

They put me at 5'6".

But, you know, I like that.

Because when people meet me in person, they're like, oh, I thought you were shorter than, you know, what it says.

The bun, you know, gives you a little bit.

Is there anything that you've talked to Arike about?

Any advice that she's given to you?

We haven't really, like, talked, like, deep, like, one-on-one like that.

But, you know, she's very encouraging.

You know, just kind of telling me, like, you know, keep going, like, how she's supporting and, like, things like that.

And it's honestly always so great to have, you know, the greats and, you know, people that have come through the program to say how proud they are of you and how they're supporting and how they're watching and they're cheering us on.

And it honestly makes you feel, you know, really welcome, really warm to kind of have that support from greats like that.

And I think, was it even that UConn game when Skylar was there?

The most recent UConn game.

Everybody was there.

Everybody.

It was Jewel.

It was Skylar.

It was Deb.

Arike.

It was everyone.

It was Marina.

What was their reaction to it after the game?

Because, you know, you'd see the clips on the broadcast where they'd pan over and Skylar would be up cheering, getting you guys hype.

And she's also someone who seems so competitive on so many layers.

But what was that energy like to have all of them in the building?

Oh, it was so different.

Just, like, the fans.

I think they were more excited.

I think they were more excited to see them than they were to see our game.

But, like, it was just, like, you know, like, the energy that they bring is something so different.

How they were, like, on the sidelines, what you saw is, you know, how they were after the game.

Because, you know, that's a big rivalry.

So, it's like, you know, you beat UConn here at Notre Dame and it's like, wow, you just won a Super Bowl, you know?

So, like, when we won, you know, I went up to Skylar.

I hugged Skylar.

And she was just, you know, she was talking.

She was encouraging me.

She was hype.

Everybody was hype.

Then they all come into the locker room.

They're talking.

They're super hype.

Just, you know, the energy that they bring is just so different.

That Notre Dame blood runs deep and forever.

It runs deep when it goes far.

It's actually crazy because when I was growing up, it was always Tennessee-UConn.

And Paige was recently asked about that in an interview.

She, you know, because they were playing Tennessee and they said, you know, does that rivalry still stand?

And she said, you know what?

It's Notre Dame now.

Yeah.

That's what it is.

That's what it is.

Speaking of players and celebrities.

Has there been anyone else who has reached out to you and complimented your game that you just thought was really cool?

Oh, there's a couple.

I'm tripping.

There's a couple.

It was like Dame.

He commented on my game.

KD, my first year in Paris, commented on my game.

DT, after the UConn game last year, she came up to me after the game.

And even Drake, you know, that was something that was like, oh, wow.

This is fire.

This is awesome.

I was like, yeah, Drake.

I listened to him growing up.

What did he say?

Do you remember what he said?

He was just like, I think he had posted me like on his story saying something because I had his sweatshirt on, his Noctis sweatshirt.

And so he had posted something along those lines about my game.

That's crazy.

Can you talk about meeting Diana Taurasi for a second?

Because Diana Taurasi, she has this aura about her and she's been around for so long.

I watched her at UConn growing up.

And she was easily hated because she's so good.

And then you meet her and she's like one of the coolest people ever.

My mind changed completely.

So what was that like talking to Diana?

She was so chill.

And it was really brief.

But it was just like, I just beat UConn.

I had like 34 that game.

And she was just like, man, you didn't have to do my team like that.

Whatever.

So, you know, it was really chill.

It was really playful.

But, you know, how she was able to, you know, just come up to me and give me props for the game.

And, you know, yeah, she was so chill.

I didn't even know that, you know, she was at the game.

But, you know, it was awesome for her to be able to come up to me after and speak to me.

She's one of those people when you earn her respect that's like, it means a lot because she doesn't give it out easily, you know.

Absolutely.

So you recently got to spend time with one of the biggest stars in all of sports and Kaitlyn Clark.

You guys were coaching a game together.

How was that?

Yeah, honestly, it was awesome.

The whole experience was just great.

We got to work.

We got to work with kids who were a little challenged.

And so just to be able to see their reaction, they knew Kaitlyn Clark from what previous years that she had come.

So just to be able to watch their interaction with her and how excited they were to, you know, meet her and kind of talk to her again, honestly, was just something that was so cool.

But, you know, they were they were lit.

Like they were the king of like two back to back threes and one.

And like we were really just turning.

So the energy in the building, I think it could have been because Kaitlyn Clark was.

But the energy in there was just phenomenal.

I feel like both of you could feed off of each other's energy.

Is that is that someone you would maybe like to team up with at some point in your career?

Oh, absolutely.

Kaitlyn is a phenomenal player.

I'm a big fan of hers.

And so to be able to, you know, team up with her who changed, you know, the game just tremendously, how she still is changing the game.

Oh, honestly, be something that was so great to, you know, kind of team up alongside him.

That might be too much fire on the court.

I don't know if fans can handle that.

You two and the one to punch.

That would be a crazy, crazy backcourt.

I'll be so excited.

OK, Hannah.

Well, I know that you are so busy.

But before I let you go, I have a couple buzzer beaters for you.

OK, so who is one person that you would love to see sitting courtside at one of your games?

Jasmine Sullivan.

OK, I like that.

Do you play her pregame?

Well, I love her music so much.

OK, we're going to tag.

We're going to tag her in this clip.

We got to get her out to the other game.

OK, so who is one person dead or alive that you would love to sit courtside with?

I would love to sit courtside with.

Oh, Kobe.

I feel like he's a favorite in that question.

There's man, R.I.P.

to a legend.

And what is one event in history that you would have loved to sit courtside for?

This could be a sporting event or other.

Like you just get that you just get that courtside view of anything in history.

I would love to have been courtside of with Jesus.

Some some with Jesus doing a miracle or something like that.

That's my courtside view.

I would love to have first question you to ask him.

Um, that's a good question.

I have no idea.

I wouldn't ask no questions.

You just say thank you first.

You know, question.

Later.

Well, forget the question.

Yeah.

Hannah, well, thank you so much again for taking time out and coming on Courtside Club.

Let everyone know where they can find you on socials or anything else that you're working on that we should be aware of.

Yeah.

You guys can find me at Hannah.

Hidalgo three on.

Twitter, I.G.

and Tick Tock.

Tune into the tick tocks for all of the dances.

I love all of the dances.

I got your like pregame lead up to to one of the games and you forgot to film USC, but I got to see the you can do more of that.

I was locked in.

I was so locked in.

I recorded all the way up.

And then once we got off the bus, I completely forgot.

I was like, it's game time.

Yeah.

Yep.

Social media is gone.

We got to go.

We just died.

And you did.

Well, Hannah, I hope to see you guys going all the way this season.

You have a huge fan in me, even though I'm from Ohio and I'm an Ohio State fan.

I'll say.

But for you, I'm a Notre Dame fan, so good luck the rest of the way.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.