Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories chronicling Archbishop Mitty basketball player McKenna Woliczko’s road back from a serious knee injury. Woliczko is a five-star prospect in the class of 2026.
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — McKenna Woliczko entered the Orchid Center at Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center early Wednesday morning to greet the first true phase of her grueling recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Rising with the sun, Archbishop Mitty’s All-American forward, the two-time Bay Area News Group player of the year, set out on the first step of a nine-month journey back to the court.
Though an early signpost in her overall journey, it was already a cause to celebrate. Woliczko had been diligent in her prehab, as it is known, working to strengthen the wobbly knee she injured in a game on Jan. 4 and increase its range of motion.
Her efforts were successful. The ACL reconstruction surgery, originally scheduled for mid-February, was moved up to Jan. 29.
“It’s really hard with the injury,” Woliczko told the Bay Area News Group a few days before the surgery. “Something that I’ve been doing that’s really been helping me is setting little goals. Not big goals, but ones that you can accomplish.”
Since the injury, Woliczko had worked with Mitty’s trainers to stabilize the remaining tissues in her knee.
But this week, the moment of truth arrived for the player who has received scholarship offers from top programs such as South Carolina, Iowa, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, Texas and USC.
Now, doctors would go in and find out exactly what had been damaged and needed fixing. Everyone involved at the hospital, including Woliczko’s mother Erica and father Aaron, was understandably nervous.
Woliczko entered Kaiser at 8:30 a.m. and was promptly onboarded into surgery preparations. For the most part, all her parents could do was wait and hope.
Despite downing a large coffee early in the morning, by the afternoon, Aaron was dozing in the waiting room.
“Everything’s just kind of adding up, you know?” he reflected.
Woliczko was originally scheduled to be released from surgery at 1:30 p.m., but things took a turn during that hour. Her orthopedic surgeon, Chris Lehman, noticed during surgery that her lateral meniscus, originally thought to be in good enough condition to repair itself, needed to be surgically stitched together.
This meant the Woliczkos would have to spend several more hours at the hospital.
“As much as she does things big, she makes it easy on us,” Erica said. “This hasn’t been easy, though.”
Throughout the day, dozens of family friends reached out to the Woliczkos expressing their support and well wishes. Among them were Mitty girls basketball coach Sue Phillips, NBA legend Jason Kidd – the namesake of Woliczko’s AAU team – and college coaches like South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey.
Ivey commiserated with Aaron about her experiences with her son, Jaden Ivey, who suffered a broken fibula on Jan. 1 while playing with the Detroit Pistons.
Staley noted that South Carolina standout forward Ashlyn Watkins, who tore her ACL playing against Mississippi State on Jan. 5, could be “rehab buddies” with Woliczko.
They’re all nice sentiments. But they’re no match for the lengthy reality ahead that awaits the Woliczko family.
“To see her work so hard and miss so much, it’s heartbreaking for her,” Erica said.
Because of the added complication with the meniscus, Woliczko was in significant pain and took longer to be discharged from the hospital. There was a longer-term effect as well: she will not be able to put weight on her right knee for four weeks.
“She does have her mom’s pain tolerance, so she can fight through a lot,” Aaron said. “That’s what’s scary.”
Before the surgery, Woliczko expressed optimism regarding the road she must traverse over the many months to come. But she acknowledged that much of what was laid in front of her would be unpredictable.
“It’s hard sitting on the sideline,” she said during a recent Mitty practice. “But everyone’s been so great and supportive. So I’m really grateful for all my family, friends, teammates, coaches that have been able to support me. I’ve also learned so much just sitting on the sideline alone and being able to watch practice or during the games.”
Back at the hospital, Aaron and Erica received some good news around 3:45 p.m.: Woliczko was almost ready to go home.
Erica headed to the post-operation area to help get Woliczko ready to go, while Aaron retired to the parking garage to pick up the family car and bring it around.
The overall timeline of her recovery had not changed, but the immediate future had. In the aftermath of the surprise meniscus repair, Woliczko’s rehabilitation objectives had been altered.
Initially, there was hope she could begin physical therapy as soon as this past Friday, two days after the surgery. Instead, her goals will be more basic.
Woliczko will instead focus on straightening her leg, which will help prevent atrophy in the knee joint and build toward improved flexibility when she progresses to more advanced movements. With her recently repaired meniscus, she must avoid bending her knee past a 60-degree angle for two weeks.
After months of PT, the plan is for Woliczko to resume running in June, with an eye toward regaining her full strength and resuming contact work at the end of October or early in November.
“Focused on full strength instead of timeline,” Aaron said.
There will be a multitude of small goals to achieve along the way. The first physical therapy session. Walking without crutches. Regaining mobility in her right leg. Attending the prom. Driving herself to school.
But all those goals felt far away on Wednesday. Still, as Aaron pulled the car out of the Kaiser garage and up in front of Orchid Center, he was reassured by a moment that occurred earlier that day.
When the Woliczko clan pulled into the medical facility early Wednesday morning, Kanye West’s “Stronger” came over the car radio on Sirius XM’s Pop2K station. McKenna introduced the song to Aaron – who hadn’t known it prior – and the family noted that it fit the occasion.
The lyrics of the chorus read, in part, “That that don’t kill me / Can only make me stronger.” During a vulnerable moment, those words provided comfort to McKenna, who made a resolution.
“I’m going to come back stronger,” she said.
