Iowa recruit McKenna Woliczko to play for national title Saturday

admin_news admin_news
Mar 14, 2026 - 19:30
0 0
Iowa recruit McKenna Woliczko to play for national title Saturday

Iowa women's basketball recruit McKenna Woliczko will compete for a national championship on Saturday, March 14.

Woliczko's Archbishop Mitty team will play Ontario Christian for the California Open Division state title in Sacramento (6 p.m. PT, 8 p.m. CT). Archbishop Mitty is ranked No. 2 in the MaxPreps national rankings, and Ontario Christian is No. 1, so the game will determine the MaxPreps national champion for 2026.

Woliczko, a 6-foot-2 forward, is ESPN's No. 6 overall prospect in the 2026 class. The 5-star recruit's Oct. 1 decision to commit to Iowa completed an intense months-long battle that spanned coast to coast, as the Hawkeyes held off giants like South Carolina, USC and Ohio State to land Woliczko as Jan Jensen’s first major recruiting win since taking over the program in May 2024.

Ontario Christian is led by 5-star 2027 guard Kaleena Smith. Iowa is among the 11 schools listed as "interests" on Smith's 247Sports profile page.

Offensive consistency with both hands, defensive reliability across all positions, a relentless motor that never stops — all of it has put Woliczko in this position. Dominance, both with AAU’s Team Kidd and at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, California, sent Woliczko soaring up the recruiting rankings. Gold medals at the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 championship and 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup further cement the kind of talent Iowa just acquired.

“I believe Iowa is a perfect fit for me as I balance basketball, academics and an overall college experience," Woliczko said when she committed. "The style of play is perfect for me as my versatility will be utilized at a high level, and I can grow into the all-around player I envision for myself at the next level. Meeting my future professor in elementary education has inspired me for my future studies and I cannot say enough about Iowa City, I just fell in love!”

Iowa women’s basketball recruit McKenna Woliczko is shown Friday, August 29, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Woliczko is the Hawkeyes’ highest-ranked commitment since Caitlin Clark, who was No. 4 overall in the 2020 class. It was big for Jensen to hold on to Addie Deal (No. 14 overall in the 2025 class) after Lisa Bluder retired; the same goes for landing Layla Hays (No. 64 overall in the 2025 class) as Jensen’s first official commit in October 2024. But the Woliczko win sent an even louder message that Iowa will remain in the elite women’s basketball discussions for the foreseeable future. 

“She’s just a tremendous player,” Jensen said in November after Woliczko signed with Iowa. “Obviously, one of the best in the country. The thing that I think is really special about her is she held even with an unfortunate injury last year. When you hold with sitting out, you know the reputation and the skill level is really, really high.

“She’s versatile. Boy, she can hit a three but handles the ball with ease. She can get to the rim. She can rebound. She’s smart. She’s a leader. Just a great, great kid. Great family. Getting that type of person, first and foremost, and then the type of player she is on top of it — that was just a really huge moment for us. Hawk fans are really going to enjoy watching her because she has a versatile game. It’s smooth. It’s pretty, and it’s very impactful.”

Dargan Southard contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa recruit McKenna Woliczko to play for national title Saturday

Read More