Hannah Hidalgo leads parade of Latinos with hoops accolades
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Staff Reports, Staff reports
- March 7, 2025
Hannah Hidalgo sweeps ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors
Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, a favorite to win the 2025 Women’s Basketball Wooden Award, kicked off what promises to be an impressive haul of awards for Latinos in college basketball this year.
Hidalgo, whose father is Puerto Rican, was the 2024-2025 ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. The sophomore from Merchantville, N.J. has been the ACC Defensive Player of the Year the last two seasons.
She was also the ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP and an All-American last season. Hidalgo led No. 6 ranked Notre Dame (25-4) to a share of the ACC title. At this point, Hidalgo, USC sensation Juju Watkins and UCLA’s Lauren Betts appear like the favorites to win the Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Aaliyah Chavez is on the way
The future is bright for Latinas in college basketball. Phenom Aaliyah Chavez, the No. 1 ranked girls high school basketball player in the Class of 2025, just won the Texas UIL 5A state title last weekend.
Chavez was named the Naismith Girls’ High School Player of the Year on Friday. She’s the first Mexican American to win the honor.
Chavez, a McDonald’s All-American, will announce her college decision later this month. Bella Hines, who is committed to LSU, is another talented player expected to make an impact as a freshman next year. Hines is the only high school girls basketball player in America with a Jordan Brand NIL deal.
For now, we’ll focus on the players who received college accolades this year. UCF freshman Emely Rodriguez, a native of the Dominican Republic, was named to the All Big 12 Freshman Team. The 6-foot guard/forward averaged 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season.
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UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez was an All Big-Ten Honorable Mention selection. Nina De Leon Negron was the Athletic American Conference Newcomer of the Year. The grad transfer was also a Second Team All Conference pick. Rice sophomore guard Victoria Flores was named to the AAC All Newcomer Team.
On the men’s side, the all-conference teams won’t start being released until next week. Several Latinos have been named finalists for major awards, though.
UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg has been named a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. Lendeborg represents the Dominican Republic.
Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara and St. John’s RJ Luis are finalists for the Julius Erving Award, which goes to the top small forward in the country.
Staff Reports
Staff reports
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