Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo sends clear message as Team USA begins FIBA Americup campaign

Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Hannah Hidalgo bucked the trend of players leaving the program in the off-season and instead chose to stay in South Bend. During the offseason, Hidalgo scored a spot on the 12-person roster for Team USA's AmeriCup tournament in Chile.

Hidalgo teamed up with former Fighting Irish star Olivia Miles in Team USA's 108-47 win over hosts Chile to start the competition on a high note. In a clip posted on the team's Instagram page after the game, Hidalgo was upbeat about Team USA's chances of winning more games at the competition in the coming games.

"It was so great, the crowd was so great. I'm super excited and more dubs to come," Hannah Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo reposted the clip of her promise on her Instagram stories alongside a gold medal and captioned it:

"More to come!!"

Hidalgo's IG stories

The last time that Team USA won the AmeriCup was in 2021, as they were beaten in the 2023 final by Brazil.

Hannah Hidalgo was tabbed to be the face of women's basketball

Hannah Hidalgo averaged 23.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, leading them on a 19-game winning streak. This culminated in a No. 1 AP ranking in February. After a stellar season, she was also named a Wooden Award finalist.

During a "SportsCenter" interview in May, Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey tabbed Hidalgo to be the face of college basketball next season.

"Well, she's (Hidalgo) gonna be the best player in the game," Ivey said. "She's ready for it, a rising junior, somebody that has exploded on the stage since her freshman year, coming off of an incredible sophomore year. She's ready for it and I'm excited that she's going to be the face of women's basketball 'cause she's earned it and deserves it. I think she's going to be phenomenal. "She wants it, she's hungry for that role and she's got a chance to see it from a lot of different perspectives and she has that energy, she has that excitement. She's a leader regardless because of the way she plays and now, she gets the chance to be an upperclassman, somebody that's got the experience, and she's gotta be more vocal. All eyes are on her and she's excited for that position."

Hannah Hidalgo will face plenty of competition to be the face of college basketball next season. The 2025 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, UConn Huskies standout Azzi Fudd, and Wooden Award-winning USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins are still in the picture.

Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here

Edited by John Maxwell