From NBA All-Star Game to junior prom: Inside early days, setbacks and successes of Bay Area basketball star’s rehab journey

Editor’s note: This is the second 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.

SAN JOSE — Solitary confinement.

That’s what comes to mind when watching McKenna Woliczko work through her tedious, repetitive rehabilitation exercises all by herself in the weight room at Archbishop Mitty High School.

Woliczko has been at this for a while since her surgically repaired anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus were healthy enough to begin rehab in early February. Weeks turned into months of monotonous, limited and finely tuned workouts designed to keep her lower body active and healthy while her injuries heal.

“Boring s—,” as Mitty head sports performance coach Brett Nichols terms it.

But brighter days were just around the corner. As junior prom approached last weekend, Woliczko discussed table arrangements with Nichols.

Prom is typically one of the formative moments of any high school experience, but for Woliczko it carries a special significance. It is a tangible reminder of how far the basketball star has come.

Since undergoing surgery in late January, it has been a goal of hers to shed the brace that prevents her knee from bending past a certain angle. The brace makes it harder to walk, move and generally exist.

• PART 1: Woliczko undergoes knee surgery, sets goals for return to court

But that brace is history. Woliczko has advanced enough to walk normally, which means she can also drive, restoring an important sense of independence as she once again commutes herself to school from her home in San Bruno.

And she no longer has to worry about hiding a bulky brace under a prom dress.

“You definitely have a lot more freedom being able to drive,” the junior said. “It definitely is better. I still can only sit at the table at prom. I can’t really do much, so there’s still that. But I’m excited. I get to enjoy prom with my friends.”

That brace, as well as the crutches she had to sport immediately after undergoing surgery, made a lot of things more difficult than they used to be. Woliczko was selected to participate at NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco two months ago as part of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Court of Leaders program.

Initially, the plan was for her help run instructional clinics and teach young children the game. But just weeks after surgery, she was relegated to a sedentary position, limited to encouragement and sharing her knowledge.

There was still value in the experience. But it wasn’t quite what Woliczko envisioned before she hurt her right knee in a game on Jan. 4.

“I was fully on crutches, and it was like three weeks after, so I was very tired from surgery,” Woliczko said. “It’s really hard to be in San Francisco on crutches. There were workouts that I would have been able to help with, but because of that, I was just able to sit there and meet people. It was nice just being able to be involved.”

The crutches were irritating Woliczko’s armpits, so Mitty head athletic trainer Chelsea Waldrup wrapped them up with a “butt-ton” – Woliczko’s words – of padding to ameliorate her level of comfort.

“Being on crutches is one of those things that I feel like as a kid, you’re like, ‘Oh, that would be fun,’” Woliczko said. “But then once you’re on them, you’re like, ‘No.’ Especially being on them for four weeks. Four weeks was a really long time.”

But she’s free of them now. And Waldrup has been there with Woliczko every step of the way, doing what she can to ease Woliczko’s pain from day to day.

“She and I have had a really strong connection,” Waldrup said. “When she came in as a freshman, she had a little ankle sprain, and we dealt with it then, and I think our relationship has definitely grown. I wouldn’t say that it’s changed at all. She’s definitely very comfortable in our office.”

It takes a comprehensive collection of surgeons, trainers, and performance coaches to rebuild an elite athlete. Tangible goals like making it to the prom unencumbered help push through the days when darkness seeps in.

Even Woliczko’s victories come with some reservations these days. When her Jason Kidd AAU team traveled to Hawaii, she was able to go into the ocean with them.

But she had to be deliberate, avoid waves and prevent her right knee from bending past a 60-degree angle.

“At the level that she’s at, any type of injury, you’re gonna have good days and bad days when the thing that you love has been taken away, ” Waldrup said. “She’s just like any other athlete. Some days are good, some days are bad. Most days are good.”

Running, jumping and cutting are still a ways off. But a turning point is fast approaching in Woliczko’s rehab plan.

By the end of this month her meniscus is expected to have healed to an extent that will allow for more traditional, high-intensity workouts. Nichols is visibly champing at the bit for that moment.

And this week, Woliczko traveled to Ohio State, taking her first official visit of the recruiting process.

There will be many more monotonous training sessions ahead. But the interjection of prom into the routine clearly lifted Woliczko’s spirits.

The big day arrived last Saturday.

Taking pictures with her date at Hayes Mansion in San Jose, Woliczko looked unbothered by the injury. More than that, she looked free.

Free to roam about and say hi to friends. Free to film TikToks commemorating the occasion.

Free to simply be a kid again.

“I think this will be the one,” she said with satisfaction after attempting several iterations of a TikTok inside one of the mansion’s living rooms.

It was a joyful milestone in a journey that still has several months to go. The road ahead won’t get much easier – it’s not even halfway traveled.

But so far, recovery has gone well for Woliczko. And if everything keeps going according to plan, she won’t have to watch her teammates play without her, as she did during their run to the CIF Open Division state championship game in March.

“Going through surgery and rehab, it’s definitely a mental challenge and physical challenge,” Woliczko said. “There’s new things every day that you realize you can’t do, or you can do. But then also just kind of enjoying those little moments that you’re able to do. Like now, I can balance on single legs more often, so I’m able to do that.

“I’ve definitely been able to take my mind off of the fact that I’m hurt and can’t play basketball. It’s small steps. There’s the big goal of what you might want to do, but it’s the little things that get you there.”