5-star McKenna Woliczko breaks down final 4 college basketball choices: South Carolina, Ohio State, Iowa, USC

ROSEVILLE, Calif.

Donning a black T-shirt with the message "Nothing Easy," Mitty 5-star basketball star McKenna Woliczko dribbled a ball threw her legs and around her back with utter ease.

The 6-foot-2 wing, five months removed from a torn ACL that ended abruptly a distinctly possible National Player of the Year campaign stared blankly out to one of a couple dozen Roebbelen Center courts where her Monarchs were about to slaughter another Cali Live '25 opponent.

A 20-point, 10-rebounds, 60% shooter throughout her career, Woliczko made the transition from middle school to high school, playing at the highest level in one of the nation's top programs for one of the country's top coaches (Sue Phillips) look downright easy, earning High School On SI Freshman and Sophomore national Playerof the Year awards.

Of course, none of the endless preparation, conditioning and practice has been easy for Woliczko, nor is it to play in a a demanding, detailed program, or the pressures of Team USA, where she's garnered a couple of gold medals playing overseas.

But of course the most uneasy time for Woliczko has been since she sustained her first major injury of her career on Jan.

4 in a showdown game at the Sabrina Ionescu Classic in Concord, Calif.

Mitty, then the No.

1 team in the country and undefeated, played previous No.

1 Ontario Christian, with the Monarchs winning 10 days earlier in the finals of the Nike TOC by 25 points thanks to the MVP performance of Woliczko.

The daughter of a former men's college basketball player and college softball player was on her way to another big performance late in the second quarter when she went down with the non-contact injury.

She screamed in pain.

A packed crowd went silent.

Mitty was ahead by a few points at the time, but lost 61-44.

The leader of a very young team, Woliczko showed up for every practice and game and led the Monarchs from the bench, althought it was a un-natural position.

Her coaches and teammates gushed over Woliczko's unselfish ways in the final two months of the season, which ended with league, section and regional championships, but for a third straight year a loss in the state finals.

On Friday, as the Monarchs improved to 4-0 in round-robin play at the educational-based showcase, Woliczko once again cheered and supported her girls and shared with us both the pride and discomfort from watching from the sidelines.

She also revealed (see the full video above) how the ways it may benefit her, from less wear and tear on her body, the full body strength she's gained from weight training and the unique view from the bench.

Woliczko also broke down the reason she narrowed her college choices to four schools South Carolina, Ohio State, Iowa and USC and what she covets about each program.

She plans to take official visits to South Carolina at the end of this month and another one to Iowa at the end of August.

Ultimately, she plans to make her final pick before the start of her high school season in November.

"I want to fully focus on my ACL and my senior year without the stress of college recruitment," she said.

She showed no such stress revealing all the positives she sees in each college program.

A small sample size here, but click on video for full detailed answers.

South Carolina "Anyone can see they're a legendary program.

...

If you want to be ready for the next level, that is where you go." Ohio State "I had a really good family feel with the coaching staff.

I felt very comfortable with the girls which was great." She also mentioned a teammate on her club team Bishop O'Dowd 2027 guard Myella Chapman has already committed to Ohio State, which is a positive.

Iowa "I love the new coaching staff.

There's a definitely family feel with them.

I really like the fan base and I feel I can fit in immediately on the offensive and defensive ends." She was also asked about the influence of Caitlin Clark and her career had on Woliczko choosing the Hawkeyes as a finalist.

USC "They have girls on their team that I know and played with at camps before.

...

They're also on the West Coast, the only close-to-home school and I could have family come visit me more often.".

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