High school softball: Archbishop Mitty freshman McKenna Woliczko makes seamless transition from hardwood to diamond

By Aaron Williams May 23, 2023, 11:30am

MaxPreps Co-Freshman of the Year for basketball is batting .429 this spring.

It's a busy time to be McKenna Woliczko. The Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) freshman, who helped the Monarchs to a CIF Open Division basketball final appearance in March, leads the school's softball program into the Central Coast Section Open Division semifinals Tuesday against Hollister.

Woliczko is also heading to Colorado Springs, Colo., later this week to take part in USA Basketball's U17 training camp. All while squeezing in finals week.

While many athletes excel at multiple sports, a freshman doing so on a regional and national stage is rare. But so is Woliczko.
Archbishop Mitty freshman McKenna Woliczko has helped the Monarchs softball team into the section semifinals after leading the basketball team to a CIF Open Division state finals appearance. (Photo: Larry Kauk)
Archbishop Mitty freshman McKenna Woliczko has helped the Monarchs softball team into the section semifinals after leading the basketball team to a CIF Open Division state finals appearance. (Photo: Larry Kauk)
The 6-foot-2 anchor of the Mitty basketball team was the MaxPreps Co-Freshman of the Year on the basketball court and has already started collecting regional hardware from Northern California media for her exploits on the softball field. The post player on the hardwood is the Mitty shortstop, not your usual spot for a 6-2 player.

Mitty reached the semis thanks to a thrilling 3-2 extra-inning victory over Sequoia sparked by a game-tying RBI single by Woliczko in the sixth. She later scored the winning run on an infield single by fellow Mitty freshman Mia Rodriguez.

Woliczko is batting .429 in 70 at-bats with 30 hits and 22 runs scored for Mitty, which sits just outside the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings. She has driven in a team-high 23, popped off two home runs and swiped 12 bases (second-best on the team). Her .941 fielding percentage is among the team's best with four errors in 68 chances.



On the hardwood, she averaged 20.4 points and 10.2 rebounds and buoyed Mitty throughout the regular season with UConn-bound Morgan Cheli out with an injury. In a heartbreaking title game loss to Etiwanda, Woliczko poured in 18 points and snagged 10 boards.