Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL/MAY 2026 45 When a season ends without a sour taste, it makes it easier to look forward to the next one. That's where Notre Dame should be by tomorrow — looking ahead to how it can get right back to where it was in Fort Worth and maybe even further. Anything less would be just what last year was — a letdown. A failure. And if that's too harsh to swallow, consider this; it'd be a regression, at the least. That's factual. If there is anyone who doesn't stand for reverting back to the old status quo of seasons finishing in the Sweet 16, it's Notre Dame's fearless leader, Hannah Hidalgo, who's entering her senior sea- son having set a plethora of records in her junior year, including the most steals by one player in a single season with 202 and the most steals in one NCAA Tournament with 29 in four games. All of a sudden, one of the faces of the sport — the reign- ing two-time ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year and also the 2026 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year — is facing her last chance to play in the Final Four. She doesn't want her career to go by without having done so. "It gives us motivation," she said, add- ing later, "We know that the people com- ing in next year are going to have to raise their level because we know what it feels like to get to the Elite Eight, and now we're going to have to get over that hump." So, Hidalgo is all-in. Who's with her? Ivey, of course. And possibly KK Bransford, who were both a little coy in the locker room relaying whether or not they'd utilize their fifth years of eligibil- ity at Notre Dame. Neither definitively said no. Bransford was closer to saying yes. Notre Dame could use both of them back because beyond Hidalgo, redshirt freshman Leah Macy is the only other scholarship player from this year's ros- ter that will be on next year's for sure. Five true freshmen that make up the No. 5 recruiting class in the country are arriving this summer. That quintet plus Hidalgo, Macy and — hopefully, for the Irish's sake, Bransford — constitute a solid squad of nine scholarship play- ers. A couple transfers would give Ivey a deeper pool of players than she had this year. And a more talented one, too. Thus, even with over half the team hav- ing never played in a college basketball game, there will be a lot expected of Notre Dame once again. "They're ready," Ivey said of the freshmen. "They're hungry. They're all winners. They've all won at the highest level where they are right now, so I know they'll come in and make an immediate impact for us. I'm going to rely on them early no matter if they're freshmen or not. Then having great leadership coming back, that's going to help mold them, teach them what to do early." As fun as it was to make a late-season surge nobody saw coming and run with it all the way to the verge of the Final Four, it'd be even more enjoyable to never let doubters have any ammo. To play supe- rior basketball from the start. To never run out of gas and have to refill the tank. To never lose by 30-plus points, twice. To have a true shot of playing for a national championship and have nobody asking how in the world that was possible. The book is closed on the 2025-26 Irish. They got knocked down but they got up and kept fighting. They were gritty. Tough. Connected. They played for each other and for the name across their chests. They'll be looked back upon fondly. The team that comes after them can and should be all of those things. But they should also aim to be the one knocking other teams down. Not just in March when nobody thought they would or could. In November, Decem- ber, January and so on. All the time. Hidalgo told UConn head coach Geno Auriemma she wants "one more shot" to take his team down. Twice, the Irish weren't close this season in a span of two and a half months. So much must be done to get closer. To actually pull it off. The work should start now. "Everybody's going to have to raise their level of intensity," Hidalgo said. ✦ 2025-26 NOTRE DAME RESULTS (25-11 OVERALL, 12-6 ACC) Date Opponent (TV) Result Nov. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson W, 98-52 Nov. 9 Chicago State W, 116-58 Nov. 12 Akron W, 85-58 Nov. 15 vs. Michigan! L, 93-54 Nov. 21 Southern Cal W, 61-59 Nov. 24 Central Michigan W, 83-51 Dec. 4 at Ole Miss^ L, 69-62 Dec. 7 at Florida State* W, 93-58 Dec. 11 Morehead State W, 97-48 Dec. 14 at James Madison W, 78-65 Dec. 21 Bellarmine W, 110-38 Dec. 29 Pittsburgh* W, 94-59 Jan. 1 at Georgia Tech* L, 95-90 (OT) Jan. 4 at Duke* L, 82-68 Jan. 8 Boston College* W, 94-60 Jan. 11 North Carolina* W, 73-50 Jan. 15 Louisville* L, 79-66 Jan. 19 at Connecticut L, 85-47 Jan. 22 Miami* W, 74-66 Jan. 25 Clemson* L, 65-58 Jan. 29 at California* L, 80-69 Feb. 1 at Stanford* W, 78-66 Feb. 5 Virginia Tech* W, 80-70 Feb. 8 at Virginia* L, 81-70 Feb. 15 NC State* W, 79-67 Feb. 19 at Wake Forest* W, 78-54 Feb. 22 at SMU* W, 88-63 Feb. 26 Syracuse* W, 72-62 March 1 at Louisville* W, 65-62 March 5 vs. Miami# W, 69-54 March 6 vs. NC State# W, 81-63 March 7 vs. Duke# L, 65-63 Mar. 21 vs. Fairfield+ W, 79-60 Mar. 23 at Ohio State+ W, 83-73 Mar. 27 vs. Vanderbilt$ W, 67-64 Mar. 29 vs. Connecticut$ L, 70-52 ! Shamrock Classic at Detroit; ^ ACC/SEC Chal- lenge; * ACC Game; # ACC Tournament at Du- luth, Ga,; + NCAA Tournament first and second round at Columbus, Ohio; $ NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and Elite Eight at Fort Worth, Texas Head coach Niele Ivey's team made it to the Elite Eight for the first time in her six-year tenure at Notre Dame. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS