Iowa's potential 5-star freshman recruit could change everything

The 2025-26 NCAAW season will soon be underway, but plenty of people in Iowa are already looking ahead to next year, and for good reason: the Hawkeyes are seemingly on the brink of recruiting McKenna Woliczko, the No. 6 ranked player in the class of 2026.

Woliczko is known for a lot, and her elite rebounding is at the top of the list. She was part of the gold medal-winning USA Basketball 17-and-under team this summer, and brought her nonstop energy and ability to run both ends of the floor with her each step of the way.

This week Woliczko, who is currently attending Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, California, announced she's whittled down her list of potential colleges to four; in addition to Iowa, she's also considering South Carolina, Ohio State, and USC. She made her way to Iowa over Labor Day weekend, and the school's fans have waited to find out her final decision ever since.

Iowa's assistant coach Lasondra Barrett has done little to beat down the rumors that surround the program and Woliczko — and in fact, may be fanning them. On September 24 Barrett wrote simply, "🖤💛👀👀👀👀👀👀" on X, which prompted a reply, "This is immaculate. Has to be about McKenna right?"

On the same day reporter EJ Arocho wrote that a final decision "is expected in the next week" and that her "family had great discussions last weekend & preparations are being made for an announcement."

Woliczko previously explained that the biggest draw to Iowa is the school's culture, and the potential friendships she can make. As she put it, "So my top thing for Iowa is their culture. Kind of the same thing, like relationships. Iowa has been the newest to come in recruiting me out of these four, but I've been able to gain such great relationships with not only the coaches on staff, but the girls."

Woliczko previously visited the program in the fall of 2024, which gave her the opportunity to spend time with the team on and off the court. "I can talk to them. I can have a five-minute call with them one day, or I can have an hour call with the coaches the next day. So being able to talk about also personal things, but then also basketball," she told Arcoho.

Recruiting McKenna Woliczko would seal the Hawkeyes as a major player

Bringing Woliczko onboard would help ensure the Hawkeyes are taken seriously across conferences and throughout the US, a result the program has been marching toward for several years — and that was threatened by the departure of Caitlin Clark. Since then, the Hawkeyes have managed to prove they have staying power, and that's a trend the school hopes to maintain.

The Hawkeyes are also hoping to recruit Addison Bjorn, who will visit the school this weekend, and Jenica Lewis, will take her own official visit in October.