Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Mitty’s McKenna Woliczko

Woliczko has earned Daily Journal Athlete of the Week honors for returning to the court last Friday and recording a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds while logging 14 minutes in Mitty’s 82-44 non-league home win over Clovis, helping her settle in for a comeback effort she was admittedly “super nervous” about.

“I felt good once the jump ball happened,” Woliczko said. “I feel like that’s how it always goes for me. Coming back from an ACL or it’s just a regular game, I feel nervous ... so it was kind of a comfort that I felt as nervous as I would for any game.”

Woliczko’s Jan. 2 return was nearly a year to the day of tearing her right knee Jan. 4, 2025, in a matchup with Ontario Christian during the Sabrina Ionescu Showcase at Carondelet High School. Despite playing just 10 games her junior season, 2025 was still an eventful year for Woliczko, who in September committed to play women’s basketball at superstar Caitlin Clark’s alma mater University of Iowa.

Despite facing a long road back in the wake of the injury, one that was sure to cut into at least part of her senior year, Woliczko said she never considered that fateful game at Carondelet High would be her last in a Mitty uniform.

“No,” Woliczko said. “Obviously, that was put into consideration, maybe taking my senior year off and just playing in college my next game. But I didn’t want to do that. ... I wanted to experience high school and finish high school. ... So, that was important to me.”

Woliczko’s comeback technically started Jan. 29, 2025, when she underwent surgery at Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center to replace a torn ACL with a quadriceps tendon and repair the meniscus of her right knee. From there, she was on crutches for four weeks, in a knee brace for six weeks, before beginning a squatting program limited to 60 degrees while she combatted the typical blood flow restriction.

In the summer came physical therapy and running progressions, and starting to lift weights. She was cleared to resume contact drills Nov. 3, and only a month ago was cleared to return fully to basketball activities.

Still, what she was able to do consistently, she did — that being dribbling and shooting, even when she was still in the knee brace.

“When I was sitting in a chair, I would dribble. ... and I was shooting basically since I could walk,” Woliczko said. “I’ve had a lot of time to work on shooting. And that’s really the only thing I could do for a really long time.”

The time to focus on shooting could pay dividends down the road. While Woliczko plays power forward at Mitty, her 6-2 stature is more conducive to flex forward at the next level.

“I’m sure I will have the chance to play the 4 at Iowa because that’s something I do know how to run,” Woliczko said. “But as the game progresses ... as time goes on, it’s going to be what my team needs. And if my coaches need me to be more of the 3, I’m going to do that.”

In her return the court Friday, Woliczko showed she can do both. The game’s first possession saw the Monarchs on defense, and the senior quickly asserted her presence up top by causing a turnover, by forcing an off-ball opponent to veer from her path and commit a moving screen.

Woliczko quickly scored her first points as a senior with an offensive rebound and put-back. She went on to hit a pair of midrange jumpers, and shot 7 of 14 from the field overall, and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line — answering the biggest question she had prior to walking back onto the court for the first time in nearly a year.

“It was more about being nervous,” Woliczko said. “Just coming back and what it’s going to be like, am I going to be good enough?”

Her performance Friday suggests a resounding yes. And stepping right into the starting five along with seniors Emma Cook and Devin Cosgriff, junior Tiera McCarthy and sophomore Maliya Hunter, Woliczko has the benefit of chemistry, having played alongside all four previously in her Mitty career.

Returning to the floor Friday also comes at a critical juncture of the reigning three-time CIF Northern California Open Division regional champion Monarchs, currently 10-1, open WCAL play Tuesday night at home against Valley Christian.