FRESHMAN PHENOM
Woliczko, just 14, is having unprecedented success for storied Mitty program
In three decades as a highly successful basketball coach, Archbishop Mitty's Sue Phillips has not had a freshman quite like McKenna Woliczko.
Phillips has coached Olympians, AllAmericans and WNBA all-stars. Twenty minutes up the road at Stanford, superstar Haley Jones is a product of Phillips' program.
Woliczko, 14, is doing things even the great ones never did at Mitty. She is averaging double digits in points and rebounds as a freshman.
“Given our quality of competition, it's a testament to McKenna's work ethic and talent
that she's where she is today,” Phillips said.
Mitty had a need for scoring when star Morgan Cheli went out in December because of an undisclosed injury. Woliczko (pronounced vah-LICH-koh) has helped make up for the junior's absence, averaging 19.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
Stunning when you take into account Woliczko's experience. She had played less than two years of organized basketball when she arrived at Mitty.
But in half a season with the storied San Jose program, the 6-foot-2 standout has opened enough eyes that scholarship offers are rolling in from the likes of Florida, Arizona and Ohio State.
“Sometimes it just hits me that, oh my gosh, I'm talking to Stanford, I'm talking to UCLA, I'm talking to these great colleges,” Woliczko said.
It has been a meteoric rise for the hoops prodigy, who grew up more focused on softball, the sport her mother Erica played at the University of the Pacific.
Though softball is no longer her primary focus, Woliczko's background as a shortstop still helps her on the court.