ACC Women’s Basketball announces 2025-26 honorees
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Notre Dame junior guard Hannah Hidalgo has been selected as the 2025-26 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and leads the 2025-26 ACC Women’s Basketball All-American team and individual award recipients.
This season marks the first time since the 2021-22 season that all ACC teams will be divided into coaching staffs and league blue ribbon groups.
The media and coaches’ All-ACC selections select the same annual winners. Syracuse’s Uche Izoje was named ACC Rookie of the Year, while Louisville’s Imari Berry earned ACC Sixth Man of the Year honors. Notre Dame’s Cassandre Prosper was named the ACC’s Most Improved Player, and Duke head coach Kara Lawson earned ACC Coach of the Year honors for the first time in her career.
Hidalgo became the first player in ACC history to win both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in consecutive seasons. Offensively, the Merchantville, N.J., native leads the conference and ranks third nationally with 25.2 points per game. On January 22, she became the fastest player in ACC history to reach 2,000 career points. Hidalgo currently ranks second among active Division I players with 2,281 points, which ranks 12th on the ACC’s all-time scoring list. On Monday, she won her seventh ACC Player of the Week award, the most in a single season in league history.
On the defensive side, Hidalgo completed 162 steals this season, ranking second in ACC history. She is currently just three steals away from breaking the ACC single-season steal record set by former Virginia standout Donna Holt in 1987. Her 162 steals this season exceed the total of 15 Division I teams this year. This marks Hidalgo’s third consecutive season as Defensive Player of the Year, joining Duke’s Elizabeth Williams as the only players in league history to win the award in three consecutive seasons.
Izoye becomes the second Syracuse player to win the ACC Rookie of the Year award, joining Camila Cardoso (2021). The Asaba native from Nigeria’s Delta State is averaging 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this season, a near-double-double. The center ranks third in the ACC with 13 double-doubles this season, leading the conference among freshmen and making his third straight playoff appearance. Izoye has been named ACC Rookie of the Week eight times this season, the most weekly honors for a player in Syracuse history.
Lawson led Duke to a 16-2 league record and its first ACC regular season championship since 2013, the most wins in the league since the 2012-13 season. After losing six of their first nine games, the Blue Devils rode a 17-game winning streak to end the regular season with 21 wins and earn the top seed in this week’s Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Lawson was named to the 2026 Warner Ladd Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Watch List by AXIA Time on February 18, becoming the first Duke coach to win ACC Coach of the Year since Joanne P. McCallie in 2013.
Berry averaged 10.7 points per game, ranking third on the team. The Clarksville, Tenn., native has scored in double figures in four of his last five games heading into the playoffs. On January 18, when the University of Louisville defeated North Carolina State University 88-80 in overtime, Berry made 14 of 23 shots and scored a career-high 33 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals, becoming the highlight of the season. The next day, the guard was named ACC Player of the Week. Berry became the first Cardinal since Dana Evans in 2019 to win ACC Sixth Player of the Year.
Prosper, who has yet to record a career double-double entering the 2025-26 season, has recorded six double-doubles this year. The native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, averaged just 5.8 points per game in his first three seasons, but ranked second on the team with 14.1 points per game. In ACC competition, Prosper averaged 13.3 points per game and ranked ninth in the league with a 46.9 field goal percentage. She became the first Notre Dame player to win the Most Improved Player award.
Each ACC All-ACC team consists of 10 players, while the All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams each consist of 6 players. Seven players were also selected to the ACC All-ACC First Team.
The 2026 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Championship will begin on Wednesday, March 4 at Gas South Arena in Greater Atlanta. The first and second round games will air on the ACC Network, while ESPN2 and the ACC Network will each cover Friday’s quarterfinals. ESPN2 will continue coverage of Saturday’s semifinals, and Sunday’s championship game will be broadcast live on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET.
The 2026 event, now in its 49th year, marks the first time the Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Championship will be held at a neutral site outside of Carolina.
2025-26 ACC Women’s Basketball All-Pro Team (voted by the league’s Blue Ribbon Panel)
player of the year: Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Defensive Player of the Year: Hannah Hidalgo
Rookie of the Year: Uche Izoye, Syracuse
Coach of the Year: Kara Lawson, Duke University
Sixth Player of the Year: Ivan Ribery, Louisville
Most Improved Player: Cassandre Prosper, Notre Dame
ACC All-Conference First Team
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame 1,147
Toby Fournier, Duke 1,085
Kemora Johnson, VA 956
Camille Pierre, NC 923
Zoe Brooks, NC 758
Uche Izoye, Syracuse 739
Laura Ziegler, Louisville 562
Taina Mayer, Duke University 481
Rashaya Kyle, Miami 469
Talaya Walker, Georgia Tech 435
ACC All-Conference Second Team
Neela Harris, NC 411
Lulu Tweedale, CA 392
Ashlon Jackson, Duke 371
Tatiana Roberts, Louisville 336
Nunu Agala, Stanford University 329
Kali Wenzel, Virginia Tech 326
Mia Moore, Clemson 289
India Nivar, NC 287
Cassandre Prosper, Notre Dame 269
Ivan Ribery, Louisville 234
best defensive team
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame 326
Toby Fournier, Duke 215
Uche Izoye, Syracuse 197
India Nivar, NC 121
Tayna Mayer, Duke University 103
Brianna Turnage, Georgia Tech 83
freshmen team
Uche Izoye, Syracuse 340
Lara Somfai, Stanford University 239
Arianna Robertson, Duke University 169
Neela Brooks, NC 142
Theresa Hagens, Pitt 97
Milan Brown, Wake Forest University 84
Coach of the Year
Kara Lawson, Duke University 193
Jeff Walz, Louisville 97
Felissa Leggett-Jack, Syracuse 75
Sixth Player of the Year
Ivan Ribery, Louisville 223
Arianna Robertson, Duke University ’95
Neela Brooks, NC 68
Most Improved Player
Cassandre Prosper, Notre Dame 86
Brianna Turnage, Georgia Tech 74
Elif Istanbul Luoglu, Louisville 69
2025-26 ACC All-Pro (voted by league head coaches)
player of the year: Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Defensive Player of the Year: Hannah Hidalgo
Rookie of the Year: Uche Izoye, Syracuse
Coach of the Year: Kara Lawson, Duke University
Sixth Player of the Year: Ivan Ribery, Louisville
Most Improved Player: Cassandre Prosper, Notre Dame
ACC All-Conference First Team
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame 334
Toby Fournier, Duke 320
Kemora Johnson, VA 299
Camille Pierre, NC 274
Zoe Brooks, NC 250
Uche Izoye, Syracuse 212
Laura Ziegler, Louisville 181
Neela Harris, NC 163
Tatiana Roberts, Louisville 150
Ashlon Jackson, Duke 147
ACC All-Conference Second Team
Taina Meyer, Duke University 137
Rashaya Kyle, Miami 127
Mia Moore, Clemson 114
Lulu Tweedale, California 112
Kali Wenzel, Virginia Tech 110
Carice Baker, Virginia Tech ’99
Nunu Agala, Stanford University 90
Talaya Walker, Georgia Tech ’89
India Nivar, NC 87
Leila Filia, Syracuse 84
best defensive team
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame 102
Toby Fournier, Duke 60
Uche Izoye, Syracuse 55
India Nivar, NC 53
Taina Meyer, Duke University 30
Brianna Turnage, Georgia Tech 19
freshmen team
Uche Izoye, Syracuse 96
Arianna Robertson, Duke University 62
Lara Somfai, Stanford University 57
Neela Brooks, North Carolina 47
Haley Swain, Stanford University 34
Theresa Hagens, Pitt 25
Coach of the Year
Kara Lawson, Duke University ’66
Jeff Walz, Louisville 41
Felissa Leggett-Jack, Syracuse 21
Sixth Player of the Year
Ivan Ribery, Louisville 75
Arianna Robertson, Duke University 32
Chloe Clardy, Stanford University 24
Most Improved Player
Cassandre Prosper, Notre Dame 60
Elif Istanbul Luoglu, Louisville 30
Zamarea Jones, North Carolina 22
