By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – As a former five-star recruit, McKenna Woliczko had her choice of colleges to attend.

In fact, she had so many scholarship offers as a versatile 6-foot-2 forward that she first trimmed her list to 10 schools, and then down to four before ultimately picking the Iowa Hawkeyes over Ohio State, South Carolina and USC.

All four of her finalists had something special to offer from a basketball standpoint, but when it came to picking the right culture, Iowa stood out.

“It was almost my whole decision,” Woliczko said Thursday after practice. “I think you can find great basketball at so many places. But the girls and the coaches here, they just really made the decision easy.

“Well, it wasn’t easy. But they made it so much better. And being here now, basically we’re almost done with summer, I just feel so confident with my decision.”

Woliczko was so excited about committing to Iowa that she announced her decision while face-timing the Iowa coaches.

“It ended up being perfect,” Woliczko said of the video. “I still get chills watching it.”

A native of San Bruno, California, Woliczko was ranked as high as sixth nationally in the 2026 senior class.

She is proud of everything she has accomplished to this point, and deservedly so, including being a former five-star recruit.

But she also faces the challenge, and some might call it a burden, of trying to live up to the enormous hype.

“In my mind, there’s always going to be that expectation,” Woliczko said. “I think it’s hard because the media and everybody expects something out of me. But I feel like my teammates and coaches, they’ve been really good at keeping me grounded and not to have put too much pressure on myself.

“I’m going to make mistakes. I’m going to do things that are good, and even though, I just have to keep pushing through.”

Woliczko was among three Iowa players that met with the media on Thursday, along with Georgia transfer Danie Carnegie, a 5-9 junior guard, and sophomore center Layle Hays.

Iowa head coach Jan Jensen also met briefly with the media on Thursday and addressed multiple topics, including Woliczko’s development this summer.

“She just already has improved since day one,” Jensen said. “She’s smart, her IQ. She’s just versatile. Her three ball, that’s the one thing she didn’t shoot as much, and it’s so much better. But we’ve got to keep getting it better.

“But her presence is really elite. Her IQ is elite and she’s a heck of a teammate. She’s just really soaking it in and learning. I’m really excited. Her progress has been great.”

Woliczko is among six new players on the Iowa roster, which has 11 players overall with the five returning players.

So there has obviously been an adjustment, on and off the court, but that’s where Iowa’s culture has been so beneficial.

“It’s honestly been better,” Woliczko said of her brief time as a Hawkeye. “I’m just so happy to have all these coaches and girls, and even the managers, they’re such great supporters. And I just feel supported with everything, whether I’m confused or having a good time. I always feel like there is someone else there.”

Woliczko has had to overcome some rough spots, like her first week in Iowa City when she was without her luggage.

Mother Nature also welcomed her by unleashing a typical Midwestern storm.

“And then also the first day of practice there was a huge storm and then the tornado sirens went off,” Woliczko said. “So that was definitely such a reality shock just being here for the first time.

“But now I’m used to it; the other day it went off and I was completely fine.”

Another rough spot for Woliczko came in her junior season in high school when she suffered a season-ending knee injury in early January 2025.

She didn’t let it stop her, though, as she came back to have a strong senior season, earning a spot on the 2026 McDonald’s All-America team.

Woliczko has the skills to play both forward positions. She can use her size as a small forward and her quickness as a power forward to gain an edge.

She had one play in Thursday’s practice where she drove under the basket and made a nifty reverse layup in traffic.

Iowa likes to play at a fast pace on offense under Jensen and that’s something else that appealed to Woliczko.

“I’ve always been able to be on top of my conditioning and my motor is always going,” Woliczko said. “I’m always able to run up and down the court, always good at rebounding. And those are the two things that I can control. So I will just try to control those.”

Woliczko has been matched in practice against fellow wing forwards Journey Houston and Georgia transfer Jocelyn Faison. And while it’s been a struggle at times, especially on defense, the daily grind is making Woliczko better.

“It’s definitely just so much quicker,” Woliczko said of the college game. “When we’re playing a scrimmage, I’m guarding Jocelyn or Journey and they’re just so fast. So when I’m guarding them on defense, sometimes I get blown by, and that’s totally normal. I’ll get used to that and I’m just trying to do the technique right, and then eventually I’ll get quicker and stronger.”

Even with just five returning players on the roster, Woliczko credits them for maintaining the culture that made such a strongimpression during the recruiting proices.

“Obviously, there’s six new people here,” Woliczko said. “But the fact that there are five people that have stayed has just been so supportive and helpful. It’s just awesome. ”

Iowa is coming off a season in which it finished 27-7 overall and 15-3 in the Big Ten.

However, the season ended sooner than expected with a loss to Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It marked the second straight season that Iowa has failed to advance past the second round.

Iowa also had five players enter the transfer portal shortly after the season ended, including former five-star recruit Addie Deal, who is also from California.

Deal, who has since transferred to Wisconsin, was in a similar spot last summer as Woliczko is in now as Iowa’s marquee recruit.

Deal, a 6-0 guard, certainly had her moments last season, making the Big Ten All-Freshman team.

But she only started three games and played behind junior guard Taylor Stremlow for most of the season.

Time and performance will ultimately determine Woliczko’s role this coming season, though her versatility would seem to make her a valuable option whether she starts or not.

There will almost certainly be some peaks and valleys as Woliczko navigates through her freshman season.

But she can always fall back on Iowa’s culture to get her through the low points.

“Whether I (score) a point or not, I’m just going to rebound and run and just do what I can to help my team.” Woliczko said.