As the 2024-25 women’s basketball season gets closer, we’re seeing more and more of how great the expectations are for Notre Dame. With the first regular-season game less than three weeks away, the ACC has chosen now to bestow its annual preseason honors. Hey, the conference might as well give some honors out as long as it’s having its coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel vote on how they think the season will go.
Most importantly, the Irish have been picked as the preseason favorite to win the conference. They received 70 of the 79 first-place votes with eight going to second-place NC State and one going to seventh-place Stanford.
The Irish also lead all teams with three players on the Preseason All-ACC Team and two players on its Newcomer Watch List. Needless to say, every conference opponent will need to bring its best every game to even have a chance at toppling the Irish.
Here are the Irish players the conference is banking on making the most impact this season:
Hannah Hidalgo – Preseason Player of the Year
There was no way last year’s First Team All-American wasn’t winning this award, taking 62 of the 79 first-place votes in the voting for the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Olivia Miles – Preseason All-ACC
The former All-American is back from a knee injury that kept her out all of last season, and she even received four first-place votes in Preseason Player of the Year voting.
Sonia Citron – Preseason All-ACC
The unheralded third guard of the Irish’s starting backcourt will be key to the team’s success this season.
Kate Koval – Newcomer Watch List
Everyone will be eager to see how well she lives up to the five-star billing she enjoyed as a recruit.
Liza Karlen – Newcomer Watch List
The only graduate student to make the list, the hope is she’ll be as impactful as she was as the face of Marquette last season.
This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: ACC preseason honors galore for Notre Dame women’s basketball
