Mitty forward McKenna Woliczko is double-teamed by Clovis West forwards Ryleigh Schoonover (5) and Sydney Swillis during the first half of their CIF open division NorCal championship in San Jose on March 10. Mitty won 71-42.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Mitty forward McKenna Woliczko laughs as she autographs friend Billy Ferreira’s shirt after her CIF Open Division NorCal semifinal against San Ramon Valley in San Jose on March 7. Woliczko, a senior and one of the top basketball recruits in the country, will attend Iowa in the fall.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Senior McKenna Woliczko finished off an impeccable high school career by winning her third Chronicle Metro Player of the Year award.
She’s the second person to have ever won it three times, joining Courtney Paris, who played for Piedmont High, the University of Oklahoma and in the WNBA. That places Woliczko, a San Bruno resident, among the most accomplished Bay Area prep girls players since the turn of the century.
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And that’s some list. It includes Paris, Brooke Smith (Marin Catholic-Kentfield), Jayne Appel (Carondelet-Concord), Brittany Boyd (Berkeley), Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte-Orinda) and Mitty’s own Danielle Robinson and Haley Jones. All either currently play (Ionescu and Jones) or played in the WNBA. Paris is an assistant coach with the New York Liberty, which drafted Ionescu with the first pick of the 2020 draft and won the 2024 WNBA title.
Woliczko “has certainly put herself in that conversation,” said Clay Kallam, a Bay Area girls basketball coach and journalist since the 1970s. “She’s right up there.”
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Mitty coach Sue Phillips, who has won 874 games against 146 losses and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024, said of Woliczko, “She’s had an incredible career. She very much deserves to be in that conversation.”
McKenna Woliczko
High school: Archbishop Mitty, San Jose
Size: 6-2
College: Iowa
Season average: 20.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals
Season stats: FGs (70.2%), FTs (81%), 3-pointers (40%)
Career averages: 21.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals
Read more
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Woliczko would have likely stood by herself as the only four-time Player of the Year had she not suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during the middle of her junior season. She was averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds for what was then the No. 1 team in the nation.
Phillips called the injury a “gut punch.” Woliczko, a perpetually upbeat teen, called it a “very stressful experience.” But like stressful parts of game action or gut-punching defeats, Woliczko simply rolled with it. “More like rocked it,” Phillips said.
Instead, the year away from competition, playing fewer games as a senior — she missed the first four weeks and 10 games — didn’t work against Woliczko for this individual award at all.
Already the most talented and recruited player in the region — as the No. 6 ranked player from the Class of 2026 by ESPN, Woliczko is the highest-ranked Iowa recruit since Caitlin Clark — her dedication and devotion to the team off the court is what pushed her over the top to win the Chronicle Player of the Year award for a third time.
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In fact, the 2025-26 salute could also double as the Teammate of the Year award.
“From the sideline, at practice, or on the bench during game day, there was a regular dialogue with her and teammates,” Phillips said. “She was mentoring in the form of X’s and O’s, offering championship mindset advice, words of encouragement. The whole time, she was also learning more about the game as well as her teammates.
“She stacked days in the weight room and on the basketball court. There was always a connection before correction with her teammates. She always approached tactfully when addressing ways to improve.
“While McKenna was not physically capable of competing on the court with her teammates, she was mentally in lockstep with them. She attacked her rehab and recovery with the same relentless competitive edge and mindset that she plays the game.”
By the time Woliczko hit the hardwood on Jan. 2 in an 82-44 win over Clovis, a team that won 26 games and eventually captured the NorCal Division 1 championship, she was at full throttle. Playing in 3- and 4-minute increments, Woliczko had 19 points and 13 rebounds, playing about 15 minutes.
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“Amazing comeback performance,” Phillips said. “A year away from a basketball game and the next time she suits up, she logs a double-double. Incredible.”
Woliczko was just getting started. She averaged 20.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 70.2% from the field (184-for-262) and 81% on free throws (59-for-73), leading the Monarchs to a 28-3 record and their fifth straight Northern California and Central Coast Section and Open Division title, the program’s 34th section championship overall.
Because Mitty won games by an average score of 73-36, Woliczko averaged just 22 minutes per game. In about 17 minutes, she scored 27 points on 13-for-15 shooting with four blocks in a 90-31 CCS Open Division title win at USF over the Chronicle’s No. 10 team, Riordan.
The contest crystallized her season — even a career — as she didn’t force her offense. She shared the ball. She actually waited until the team led 19-3 before attempting a shot.
When asked after the game whether the time away made her hungrier to be on the court, Woliczko said: “It makes me realize to be more grateful and enjoy every single moment.”
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Her final moment wearing a Mitty jersey on the court was not so joyous.
For the fifth straight year — fourth for Woliczko — the Monarchs dropped a state championship game to a Southern California foe at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, this time losing to Ontario Christian 56-49. Mitty finished ranked second in the state and No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps. Woliczko had 19 points and 10 rebounds
She still has Iowa to look forward to, and played in this week’s McDonald’s All-American game in Phoenix, where she had four points, four rebounds, a steal, an assist and a block for the West in a 91-71 loss to the East.
“It was on my bucket list as a kid to play in this game, so that’s very cool,” she said afterward. “It was an amazing experience.”
Phillips, who has been at Mitty since 1992, said coaching Woliczko was a “privilege and honor. She’s an unbelievable basketball player, but even a better human being. … She walks through life with incredible grace, confidence and humility. … I’m really happy for her and her future.”
Freelance writer Mitch Stephens has covered high school sports for The Chronicle since 2001. Email: mitch@scorebooklive.com