Dawn Staley’s South Carolina has been one of the most prestigious places to play basketball. Staley has made South Carolina a legacy school. Stars like A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston, Allisha Gray, Kamilla Cardoso and more have found success under Staley’s leadership. Another school that has been the place to be is Iowa. And it would be safe to say that Caitlin Clark deserves most of the credit for that kind of attention.
Despite different styles of play, both Iowa and South Carolina look for the best recruits. While the Gamecocks are looking to find their next A’ja Wilson, the Hawkeyes are in search of a player close to Caitlin Clark’s caliber. The most recent candidate to be the next basketball star in college is McKenna Woliczko.
Dawn Staley had her eyes on the bright talent from Archbishop Mitty High School in California. Woliczko took an unofficial visit to the Gamecocks in the summer of 2024. Ever since Caitlin Clark’s rise, McKenna is the highest rated recruit in women’s college basketball. She was ranked 6th in the girls SC Next 100 players. When Woliczko announced her commitment date, many believed that she would choose South Carolina, and Dawn Staley would get her first 2026 recruit.
However, McKenna Woliczko chose to follow Caitlin Clark’s footsteps and join the Iowa Hawkeyes.
“Obviously Caitlin’s a great player, and obviously she put Iowa on the map,” Woliczko said about joining Iowa. “But I also watched a lot of other Iowa players growing up. Megan Gustafson, Monika Czinano, I would always watch them and thought they were awesome.”
“There were no cons to either of them,” she talked about choosing between South Carolina and Iowa. “That’s what I feel like was the hardest part. After my visits, I was like, ‘I could see myself at both places. Both places were full of great people, whether that was teammates, coaches, anything. And so I wish I could live two lives to be able to go to either one of these schools, but obviously that’s not how it works.” Her decision finally came down to the bond she made with Jan Jensen.
Caitlin Clark, Lucy Olsen And More React To McKenna Woliczko
Former and current college basketball stars were excited to learn about McKenna Woliczko’s commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Drawing a lot of comparisons with Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever star was one of the most excited players for McKenna joining her alma mater.
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“LFGG!!!!!” Caitlin Clark shared her excitement.
“WOOOO,” former Iowa star Lucy Olsen replied.
“So proud of you!!! Yayyy,” Addison Bjorn commented.
“LETSGOOOO,” Iowa’s Sydney Affolter said.
“Congratssssss,” UConn’s Kayleigh Heckel replied.
“Best day ever,” “LETS GOOOOO,” Kylie Feuerbach showed excitement.
“Wooooweeee,” new teammate Jada Gyamfi commented.
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