Elite 2026 women's basketball recruit McKenna Woliczko talks visits, recruitment process

Projected five-star Class of 2026 recruit McKenna Woliczko is still open in her recruitment and is receiving interest from most of the top programs in the country. 

The 6-foot-2 wing from San Jose (California) Archbishop Mitty High School played for Team USA for the second consecutive year this summer. She just returned after winning gold at the U17 Women’s World Cup, where Woliczko tied the all-time USA rebounding record with 17 boards. 

“All the schools I’m interested in, plus some new ones, came to the games in Mexico,” Woliczko told On3. “It was pretty cool to see new and familiar faces.” 

Playing for Team USA proved to Woliczko how versatile she can be and how willing she is to expand her game for the good of the team. 

“Something that shocks me every time I go to USA is how versatile I can be when I’m put in that position,” Woliczko told On3. “In high school and AAU, I’m more strictly a 4 or 5 because that’s what my team needs… My versatility helped me make the team and show what I can do. I want to work on my ballhandling because that’ll help me be even more versatile.” 

Some of the many schools Woliczko is in contact with the most are Vanderbilt, Maryland and Stanford.

Woliczko can’t take official visits until Jan. 1 due to NCAA rules, but she’s taken unofficial visits to USC, UCLA, South Carolina and North Carolina. Those schools are all still in consideration. She said she’s planning to fill her spring break next year with official visits. 

“All of those campuses are beautiful,” Woliczko said. “Obviously South Carolina and North Carolina are on the East Coast, so it’s definitely different from being in Los Angeles, where I go on vacation a lot. With all four of those schools, I have a connection to the coaches as a player-coach relationship, but also more of an off-the-court relationship.” 

She noted that location won’t be a factor in her decision – it’ll be about relationships and the development of each program. 

“I want a chance to be successful,” Woliczko said. “And I want to go to a school that’s going to set me up for the future – a school that has WNBA experience, Olympic experience, Team USA experience. I want to go to a school that has the possibility of winning a national championship and being the best school in the country.” 

Woliczko talked to On3 about each program she’s visited so far: 

USC

“I visited them in May of 2022. I really liked it. The thing that I really like about Coach [Lindsay] Gottlieb is that she’s very straightforward. You know what you’re getting when you go to USC. There’s going to be no confusion.”

UCLA

“I visited them in July of 2022. It was great. I did a camp there too when I went and it was really fun. I love all the coaches and it was really cool just to see the campus because UCLA is really pretty and big. It was cool to walk around with some of the girls and be able to hang out with the coaches. The USC and UCLA visits were before I was offered because I was so young. It was pretty cool, though, and I got my first photoshoot there.” 

South Carolina

“I visited them in July of 2023 after an Adidas tournament. That was really cool. I mean, it was just very cool to see the Dawn Staley in person and think ‘This could be my coach.’ All of the coaches were really fun. It was funny to see Coach Staley’s dog following us around everywhere, Champ. South Carolina is very straightforward, too. It was really fun to see the life of athletes because we went to practice and they’re all hustling out to get to class.” 

North Carolina

“I visited them in July 2023, too. I drove there right after South Carolina. That was really cool. I love coach [Courtney] Banghart. She’s someone that I’m really comfortable giving my full opinions to. First of all, North Carolina is very cool. Very traditional with all the Michael Jordan stuff – nothing really changes. It’s really cool just to see their traditions. It’s beautiful and I’d say they have one of the best colors. I love it. But yeah, it was really cool to see the campus, see the coaches and be in [Banghart]’s office and see her wall of shoes and tell her about my experiences from that summer.”