Mitty basketball star McKenna Woliczko makes her college decision

SAN JOSE – McKenna Woliczko is trading in one version of black and gold for another.

The five-star Archbishop Mitty senior forward, one of the top players in the country in the class of 2026, announced Wednesday morning on X and Instagram that she had committed to the University of Iowa.

With her commitment to the Hawkeyes, she becomes the biggest recruit for Iowa since All-American Caitlin Clark and, like Clark was, could be a program-changer in the years to come.

“I feel so much better,” Woliczko told the Bay Area News Group. “The whole process was awesome, but especially getting towards the end, it was just super stressful. There were days where I didn’t want to talk about basketball or talk about college at all, because it was a part of my life since I’ve been in eighth grade, and it’s been super stressful.

“So now, finally making the decision, I feel like there’s been so much weight lifted off my shoulders, and I just feel so much better about it all. And I’m excited to talk about basketball and excited to talk about college now.”

Woliczko ranks as the No. 6 player in the senior class according to all three major recruiting services – ESPN, On3/Rivals and 247Sports. Clark was the No. 4 player in the 2020 class out of Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa.

It’s hard to overstate the impact of Woliczko’s commitment for the Hawkeyes. In some ways, her commitment is more significant than even Clark’s, given that she hails from over halfway across the country.

“It was really between South Carolina and Iowa,” said Woliczko, who also had Ohio State and USC in her final four. “Those two schools I honestly think are perfect, and I don’t think that there’s any cons to either of them. And that’s what made the decision so hard.”

Ultimately, the small-town Midwestern feel of Iowa’s campus won out.

“A big part of that was Iowa City,” Woliczko said. “I just felt like it was such a fun college town. And seeing all the fans and how Iowa supports all the sports was so awesome.”

Woliczko won’t be the only Californian on Iowa’s roster. Current freshman Addie Deal, a five-star, top-15 prospect herself, hails from Irvine and attended Mater Dei in Santa Ana.

Deciding between a future in Columbia, South Carolina, and one in Iowa City has consumed almost a month since Woliczko returned home from an official visit to Iowa over Labor Day weekend. She’s thrilled to now have secured her future and put the recruiting process behind her.

“Going to Iowa the second time, I was hoping that it would either be an eye opener or eye closer for me, and that would make my decision easier,” Woliczko said. “And I ended up really loving it, so that made my decision 10 times harder. It was such a hard, grueling decision. Definitely the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make my entire life.”

The Hawkeyes were hyped when they heard the news from Woliczko last week. Iowa was in the middle of a photoshoot when Woliczko texted videographer Kobi Russom and asked him to film her FaceTiming Iowa coach Jan Jensen with the news.

Woliczko’s announcement stopped the festivities in their tracks.

“He set coach Jensen up with all the girls,” Woliczko recounted. “They were in the middle of taking a picture, and I FaceTimed Kobi, and he handed the phone to coach Jensen. And I was like, ‘Hey coach.’ And she just said, ‘Hi.’ And then I was like, ‘Do you have No. 20 available?’ And then all the girls and everybody went crazy and they were super excited.”

Now knowing that she’ll start her college career in Iowa City, Woliczko can turn the page to her highly anticipated senior season with Mitty. The Monarchs, with Woliczko on the sidelines most of the year after she suffered a torn ACL in January, advanced all the way to the CIF Open Division state championship game before losing to Southern California powerhouse Etiwanda.

With Woliczko aiming to be back by the start of the regular season, the goal is clear.

“She wants to make sure that she can go out with an Open Division state championship for coach (Sue) Phillips,” said her father Aaron.