Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo beats $3.2M NIL-valued Caitlin Clark to bag esteemed Dawn Staley Award as top guard

Notre Dame Fighting Irish freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo was announced as the 2023 Dawn Staley Award winner on Friday afternoon. She beat the likes of Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark, who has an On3 NIL valuation of $3.2 million.

In a statement announcing the award, South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley discussed what made Hannah Hidalgo deserve to win this award.

"The Dawn Staley Award goes to the player who demonstrates exceptional skills, leadership, and performance at the guard position," Staley said. "Hannah Hidalgo's court vision, passing ability, ball-handling and ability to create scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates combined with her relentless defense is unmatched.

"She is the embodiment of a two-way force on the basketball court and the essence of what the award represents. In a season where there are several deserving candidates Hannah has separated herself from the group." h/t Yahoo Sports

This ends the streak for Caitlin Clark, as she won the award in each of the previous three seasons. Hannah Hidalgo will receive hers during the April 11 virtual ceremony. She also becomes the second Notre Dame player to win the honor, as Skylar Diggins received it in 2013.

The freshman guard had a solid season on both sides of the court to stand out. Hidalgo played all 35 games and finished with 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.6 steals per game while having a 44.6/34.0/77.6 shooting split in her first college basketball season.

Who else was in consideration for the Dawn Staley Award besides Hannah Hidalgo?

Four players were named finalists for the 2024 Dawn Staley Award. Caitlin Clark was the only player to be a finalist in each of the previous two seasons. Below is a list of the four candidates for the award:

• JuJu Watkins - USC Trojans
• Hannah Hidalgo - Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• Paige Bueckers - UConn Huskies
• Caitlin Clark - Iowa Hawkeyes

Congratulations to all of the finalists and to Hannah Hidalgo for winning her first Dawn Staley Award.