Hannah Hidalgo had a historic freshman season at Notre Dame. How does it compare to these WNBA stars?

Did the likes of Courtney Vandesloot and Sabrina Ionescu have an on-court impact like South Jersey's Hidalgo as freshmen? Here's what the numbers say.

Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo, who's from Mechanicsville, took the nation by storm as a freshman this season.Read moreMichael Caterina / AP

by Maria McIlwain

Published May 27, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

The list of accomplishments goes on and on. First-team Associated Press All-American. Dawn Staley Award winner. Sixth-best scoring average in the country. Most steals per game.

And that’s just a sampling of what Hannah Hidalgo accomplished this past season.

The Notre Dame star from South Jersey cemented herself as one of women’s college basketball’s top players, and she’s just getting started.

It may be a few years from now, but Hidalgo, who recently wrapped up her freshman season, certainly seems destined for the WNBA. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the top WNBA point guards’ freshman college seasons. Did they give us any glimpses of the standouts they’d become?

As a freshman, she led Notre Dame in points and assists and helped her squad to the Sweet 16. No, we aren’t talking about Hidalgo. About 15 years ago, Skylar Diggins was making waves in her first season with the Fighting Irish. Diggins, who’s now known as Skylar Diggins-Smith, set multiple records at Notre Dame. Her single-season record for steals was broken by Hidalgo this season.

Diggins played for St. Joseph’s alumna Muffet McGraw, was the first Fighting Irish freshman to lead the team in scoring since 1993-94, and was the first Notre Dame freshman to record 100-plus assists since 1994-95. She was an honorable mention All-American that season and later won the Nancy Lieberman and Dawn Staley awards before being drafted No. 3 overall by the Tulsa Shock in 2013. In nine WNBA seasons with the Shock, Dallas Wings, and Phoenix Mercury, Diggins-Smith, a six-time All-Star who now plays for the Seattle Storm, has averaged 16.6 points and 5.5 assists.

Like Hidalgo, Sabrina Ionescu took women’s college hoops by storm in her freshman season. The former Oregon star who’s now part of the New York Liberty’s superteam made NCAA history in her first collegiate season with her four triple-doubles. She was named the national freshman of the year by multiple organizations. Sound a bit familiar? Ionescu eventually was the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, and, in five career seasons with the Liberty, is averaging 15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.8 assists and is a two-time All-Star.

Hidalgo’s college career is still young, but Kelsey Plum had a record-setting career at Washington — records that were then recently broken by Iowa superstar and WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark. Plum started it off with a strong freshman campaign, in which she, like Hidalgo, averaged over 20 points — though Hidalgo led the Fighting Irish in multiple statistical categories as well. Plum was the Pac-12 freshman of the year and a freshman All-American. She was drafted No. 1 overall in 2017 by the San Antonio Stars (the franchise that became the Las Vegas Aces), and the two-time All-Star and WNBA champ has averaged 13.8 points and 4.0 assists in seven seasons.

Should Hidalgo, a former star at Paul VI in Haddonfield, find herself in the WNBA in a few years, she won’t be the only standout point guard from the area. Natasha Cloud, who’s from Broomall and graduated from Cardinal O’Hara, has been representing Philly and dishing assists at the highest level for years. Cloud is well-known for a stellar career at St. Joseph’s, but she spent her freshman season at Maryland, where she was a role player who averaged 2.5 points in 32 games in 2010-11. She transferred to St. Joe’s after that season, and, in 2012-13, her first season after sitting out (remember when that was a requirement of most transfers?), she was the assists leader (4.4), second-leading rebounder (4.6), and third-leading scorer (9.2) for a squad that reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999-2000. Cloud later was selected in the second round of the 2015 WNBA draft and has averaged 8.2 points and 5.1 assists in eight seasons. After spending her entire career with the Washington Mystics, she’s in her first season with the Phoenix Mercury.

Whether they quickly made their mark or took more time to develop, these future pros had something in common: They improved. Hidalgo has a few months ahead of her to develop this offseason, while the WNBA’s 28th season gets into full swing.

Three seasons’ worth of time seems like a long way away — a lot can change between then and now. But Hidalgo seems to be on a collision course with the WNBA. The only question is where she’ll play.