SAN JOSE >> Archbishop Mitty junior McKenna Woliczko, one of the top girls basketball players in the United States, will not return to the court this season.

Woliczko has torn the ACL in her right leg, the five-star recruit announced in an X post on Tuesday morning. She suffered the injury in the second quarter of Mitty’s 61-44 loss to Ontario Christian on Saturday at the Sabrina Ionescu showcase at Carondelet High in Concord.

“Unfortunately, I do have a torn ACL requiring surgery,” Woliczko wrote in the post. “I will continue to push through this setback.”

Archbishop Mitty coach Sue Phillips shared a heartfelt message concerning Woliczko’s injury with the Bay Area News Group on Tuesday.

“McKenna is incredibly resilient, and coupled with her relentless mindset, she will rise above this challenge too,” Phillips told BANG when reached by text message. “Our program and entire AMHS community shares in McKenna’s disappointment, but all of us are eager to support her road to recovery. We will rally around McKenna with the same goals and some extra motivation in her honor.”

Mitty (9-1) must now continue its season without its centerpiece player.

Without Woliczko, Mitty, currently ranked as the No. 2 team in the country by MaxPreps, trailed Ontario Christian by two points entering the fourth quarter. But the Monarchs couldn’t sustain that momentum down the stretch.

Woliczko is ranked as the No. 5 player in the 2026 class by 247Sports and No. 6 by ESPN. An elite post player, she anchored the USA Women’s U17 National Team that won a gold medal at the U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup held in Mexico in July.

She was a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore and the 2026 class player of the year in both her freshman and sophomore seasons by High School on SI and MaxPreps.

“Woliczko is one of the best rebounders nationally in her class,” wrote 247Sports women’s basketball director of scouting Brandon Clay in his assessment of her game. “Her motor does not stop on either end of the court. Woliczko is an ideal piece on a roster built to win a championship. She brings elite-level energy every time she steps on the floor. The frontcourt of the USA Basketball 17-and-under team was constructed with Woliczko’s ability to produce at a high level in mind.”

She holds double-digit scholarship offers from Division I schools and released a top 10 on Nov. 1 that included Florida State, Iowa, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, USC and Vanderbilt.

In an unfortunate twist of fate, Woliczko’s announcement came on the same day that South Carolina announced star forward Ashlyn Watkins was also confirmed to have suffered a torn ACL.

Woliczko’s father, Aaron, posted on X that “the Woliczko family was extremely saddened to hear the confirmation of ACL tear this morning to (Watkins). We have all been HUGE Ashlyn fans the last few years and all of us wish her a speedy recovery for @GamecockWBB.”

Woliczko has unofficially visited South Carolina, according to On3. She told On3 in July that she planned to take official visits during her spring break.

“I visited them in July of 2023 after an Adidas tournament,” Woliczko said. “That was really cool. I mean, it was just very cool to see the Dawn Staley in person and think ‘This could be my coach.’”

In her social post early Tuesday, Woliczko, a two-time Bay Area News Group player of the year, offered thanks to all who have reached out to her since the injury. She noted that her Mitty and Jason Kidd AAU teammates, coaches, family, friends and competitors have “reminded me how great the basketball community is!”

She also thanked the Carondelet staff for its immediate attention to her injury and to Ionescu, who was in attendance at Saturday’s game, for her “heartfelt” concern and words of encouragement.

Woliczko’s ACL tear is a big blow to a Mitty team that has high aspirations this season. The Monarchs won the Sweet 16 Invitational Championship in La Jolla and the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona, where they blew out Ontario Christian 59-34 in the championship game.

Ontario Christian was the national No. 1 at the time and returned to the top spot this week after beating Mitty on Saturday.

Mitty has fallen short in each of the past three Open Division state championship games and was considered a favorite to win the title this season before Woliczko’s injury. Mitty has captured six state championships in its storied history but none in the Open Division, which was added in 2013.

The injury will also keep Woliczko off the softball diamond for Mitty this spring.

As a freshman shortstop, she was an all-Bay Area News Group first-team selection after hitting .429 with 23 RBIs. In 15 games last spring, she hit .380.

Woliczko’s parents, Aaron and Erica, were college athletes at the University of the Pacific. Aaron played basketball and Erica stood out in softball.