By Hawk Fanatic
IOWA CITY, Iowa – First it was Addie Deal and now the Iowa women’s basketball team has landed another heralded recruit from the state of California as 6-foot-2 wing player McKenna Woliczko announced her commitment to Iowa Wednesday morning.
Woliczko, who is from San Jose, California, is ranked by ESPN as the No. 6 recruit in the 2026 class.
She picked Iowa over a long list of scholarship offers and had narrowed her list to Iowa, South Carolina, USC and Ohio State before making a decision.
Woliczko averaged 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game during her sophomore season at Archbishop Mitty High School before an ACL injury cut her junior season short.
Woliczko will now follow fellow California native Addie Deal halfway across the country to Iowa City.
Deal, a 6-0 guard from Irvine, California, was a five-star recruit in the 2025 class and is now a Hawkeye freshman.
The Iowa women’s basketball team has seen its recruiting reach and influence improve dramatically since it finished as the NCAA runner-up in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Those teams were led by generational talent Caitlin Clark at point guard.
In addition to becoming the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, Clark was also named the National Player of the Year as a junior and senior.
Her rise to legendary status, coupled with the team’s success, has made Iowa more appealing to top recruits such as Woliczko.
Lisa Bluder retired as the Iowa head coach shortly after the 2023-24 season and was replaced by long-time assistant Jan Jensen, who also was heavily involved with recruiting.
Iowa finished 23-11 in Jensen’s first season as head coach and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.