Archbishop Mitty High girls basketball player McKenna Woliczko, who has been recovering from a torn ACL since January, announced on social media Thursday that she has narrowed her college choices to Iowa, South Carolina, Ohio State and USC.

Woliczko originally had 10 teams on her list, including Florida State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford, Texas and Vanderbilt. The five-star prospect has officially visited Ohio State and plans to visit South Carolina and Iowa this summer. She is looking to visit USC in the fall during a home football weekend.

Of the four schools still on her list, USC has the most direct Bay Area connection. Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb had a successful run as the Cal women’s basketball coach from 2011-2019, a tenure that included a trip to the Final Four in 2013.

Woliczko is targeting a decision in the fall but does not have a specific timeline, sources told the Bay Area News Group.

Woliczko was named the Bay Area News Group’s 2022-23 girls basketball player of the year after she averaged 20.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game on a team that came within a buzzer-beating tip-in of winning the state’s Open Division title.

Woliczko was also given the honor last year when she averaged 22 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game for a Mitty juggernaut that spent the majority of the season ranked as the nation’s top team.

— Christian Babcock

Soccer

American star Christian Pulisic says while he decided to skip the CONCACAF Gold Cup, U.S. coaches turned down his offer to play in friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland because they wanted one roster for all games.

“You can talk about my performances, whatever you want, but to question my commitment especially toward the national team, in my opinion that’s way out of line,” Pulisic said during an interview with former U.S. players Tony Meola, Jimmy Conrad and Charlie Davis on a CBS Sports Golazo podcast released Thursday.

Pulisic played about 120 games for AC Milan and the U.S. over the past two seasons.

“Toward the second half and toward the end of the season, hey, my body just started talking to me and my mind and then I started to think what is best and — what is going to be best for me leading into next year and going into the World Cup,” he said.

“Was that to play eight more games and then get no rest at all, go straight into preseason and then grind another year and then go straight into the World Cup? That’s not what I thought was best for my body.”

College sports

Cal’s Giavonna Meeks had a personal best mark of 68.94 meters to finish fifth in the women’s hammer throw at the NCAA Division I outdoor track & field championships in Eugene, Ore. Meeks’ teammates, Valentina Savva (68.94) and Audrey Jacobs (63.74), finished 10th (68.94) and 18th respectively.

The Wisconsin football team was placed on one year’s probation and fined $25,000 on Thursday after an NCAA investigation showed that nine coaches and staffers made impermissible phone calls to recruits in 2023. Former defensive line coach Greg Scruggs and former director of player personnel Max Stienecker received one-year show cause orders. Scruggs is now an assistant defensive line coach for the 49ers.

Golf

Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea played a six-hole stretch in 6 under and shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic. Grace Kim of Australia was a shot back, a year after losing to Lilia Vu in a playoff that also included 2015 champion Lexi Thompson.

Fellow Australian Karis Davidson, Akie Iwai of Japan and Sofia Garcia of Paraguay were two strokes behind at 66 in the final event before the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship next week in Texas.

The PGA Tour is hiring longtime NFL executive Brian Rolapp as the first CEO of its new commercial division, created two years ago when tour reached a tentative agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf, The Associated Press confirmed Thursday.

Jay Monahan, who announced the framework agreement in June 2023, will stay on as commissioner of the PGA Tour. Monahan announced in December the search for a CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises, now backed by a $1.5 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group.

The tour declined comment on the hiring, first reported by Sports Business Journal.

Motorsports

Denny Hamlin will miss NASCAR’s first international race of the modern era to remain in North Carolina following the birth of his child. Ryan Truex will replace him Sunday in Mexico City.

“See you guys in Pocono,” Hamlin posted on social media. “We are happy to announce the birth of our son. Everyone is doing well. My main priority is to be here at home for Jordan.”

Hamlin and fiancee Jordan Fish now have three children, two daughters and a son born Wednesday. Hamlin had been on baby watch the last 12 days as Fish went nearly two weeks past her predicted due date.

He had planned to get out of the car at Michigan last Sunday if she went into labor early in the race, but when the first stage passed with no word, he went on to score his third win of the season.

Lewis Hamilton defended Fred Vasseur amid reports the Ferrari team principal will be ousted before the end of the Formula 1 season.

Reports have swirled as Hamilton, in his first season with Ferrari, and Charles Leclerc have yet to contend for victories. Multiple reports indicated Vasseur’s time is close to an end with the Canadian Grand Prix set for this weekend.

“He has my full support,” Hamilton said Thursday in Montreal.

Ferrari is almost 200 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ standings and hasn’t won a race since Mexico last season.