Register’s Dargan Southard reacts to McKenna Woliczko committing to Iowa women’s basketball
Register’s Dargan Southard reacts to McKenna Woliczko committing to Iowa women’s basketball
For all the elite recruiting conversations Jan Jensen and Iowa women’s basketball have now entered, many of them ultimately end in disappointment.
McKenna Woliczko is different.
The 6-foot-2 forward, currently ranked as 247Sports Composite’s and ESPN’s No. 6 overall prospect in the 2026 class, has committed to the Hawkeyes. Woliczko’s Oct. 1 decision finishes off an intense months-long battle that spanned coast to coast, as Iowa held off giants like South Carolina, USC and Ohio State to land Woliczko as Jensen’s first major recruiting win since taking over the program in May 2024.
Woliczko made a trip to Iowa City the weekend of Aug. 30 for her last official visit, positioning Iowa to make the final pitch after initially getting her on campus in October 2024. The Hawkeyes’ top competitor for Woliczko has been South Carolina, which she officially visited in June. That alone accentuates how big a recruiting victory this is for Jensen and company.
So what are the Hawkeyes getting? Well, just about everything.
Offensive consistency with both hands, defensive reliability across all positions, a relentless motor that never stops — all of it has put Woliczko in this position. Dominance, both with AAU’s Team Kidd and at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California, sent Woliczko soaring up the recruiting rankings. Gold medals at the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 championship and 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup further cement the kind of talent Iowa just acquired.
Unsurprisingly, Woliczko is the Hawkeyes’ highest-ranked commitment since Caitlin Clark, who was No. 4 overall in the 2020 class. It was big for Jensen to hold on to Addie Deal (No. 14 overall in the 2025 class) after Lisa Bluder retired; the same goes for landing Layla Hays (No. 64 overall in the 2025 class) as Jensen’s first official commit in October 2024. But the Woliczko win sends an even louder message that Iowa will remain in the elite women’s basketball discussions for the foreseeable future.
The Hawkeyes have been searching for a recruiting statement post-Clark. High-end 2025 prospects like Jordan Speiser (No. 17 overall), Brynn McGaughy (No. 16 overall) and Emilee Skinner (No. 6 overall) all considered Iowa before going elsewhere, as did 2026 recruits Kate Harping (No. 2 overall), Maddyn Greenway (No. 14 overall), and others. The excitement of just being considered at the top level quickly wore off with each rejection.
Woliczko bucking that trend makes her an instant star with a fan base that’s shown no signs of slowing down, following Iowa’s back-to-back national championship game appearances in 2023 and 2024. Roster turnover set up well for Woliczko, too, with starting forward Hannah Stuelke set to graduate after this season. Jensen’s second year should accelerate growth in Iowa’s young core as well, allowing Woliczko to slide right in next to reliable weapons.
And we’ll see how Woliczko’s commitment affects the rest of Iowa’s 2026 class. The Hawkeyes wrapped up an official visit with Vienna Murray the weekend of Sept. 20 and Addison Bjorn (No. 9 overall) the weekend of Sept. 27. Jenica Lewis (No. 22) and Amari Byles (No. 18) are still scheduled for official visits over the next few weeks. Theoretically, Iowa could take four more prospects alongside Woliczko.Could her pledge unlock additional ones?
It’s very possible.
Either way, it’s a massive day for Iowa women’s basketball.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
