Hidalgo, Betts lead women's preseason All-America basketball team - ESPN

Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame, Lauren Betts of UCLA and Madison Booker of Texas headline The Associated Press All-America women's college basketball team released Tuesday.

The trio were first-team All-Americans last spring after having stellar seasons. They were joined on the preseason team this year by UConn's Sarah Strong and South Carolina's Ta'Niya Latson. Latson transferred to the Gamecocks this year after spending the first three years of her career at Florida State.

Hidalgo and Betts each earned 29 votes from from the 31-member national media panel that chooses the AP Top 25 each week. Strong garnered 28 votes while Booker had 23 and Latson 14.

Hidalgo is coming off a season that saw the talented guard become just the fourth sophomore to earn All-America honors in her first two years. USC's JuJu Watkins also accomplished that feat last season, but is out for this year while she's recovering from a torn ACL she suffered in the NCAA Tournament. Courtney Paris and Maya Moore were also All-Americans their first two seasons.

Hidalgo averaged 23.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Fighting Irish last season. She will take on a bigger role this season with the loss of the other four starters to either the WNBA or the transfer portal.

«I know the weight of that is heavy, the crown is super heavy,» Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. «But I feel like she has done a great job of surrounding herself with the right network, the Notre Dame network, but also her family. She is very grounded with her family and her faith.»

Betts, a senior, helped UCLA reach No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history last season. The 6-foot-7 center averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds to get the Bruins to their first