Arkansas will have to wait a little longer to see Miikka Muurinen in uniform.
The Razorbacks forward is expected to miss this weekend’s Bahamas exhibition tour, a team spokesperson said Thursday afternoon, because the NCAA has not yet deemed him fully eligible. That means he cannot suit up for the games in Nassau.
There is still a path toward getting him on the floor soon. A source close to the team told HawgSports that Muurinen is expected to eventually be cleared for exhibition play in October and for the regular season after that. The delay is part of a broader issue affecting international players around the country, with several still waiting on final NCAA clearance.
Muurinen, a 7-foot, 223-pound forward, committed to Arkansas on April 27 after spending time overseas with Partizan KK in Serbia. Before that, he had already built a major national profile.
He started his high school career at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, then moved to AZ Compass Prep in Arizona, and was considered one of the top prospects in the 2026 recruiting class. 247Sports listed him as a consensus five-star recruit, and a number of major programs were involved in his recruitment.
For Arkansas, the exhibition slate begins Friday night against the Bahamas National Team in the first of four games at the 2026 Baha Mar Hoops Summer League. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT, and the game will stream on FloSports.
Muurinen’s bio also shows the résumé he brings to Fayetteville. With Finland, he became the first FIBA EuroBasket Rising Star award winner after helping his country finish fourth at the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket Championship.
He averaged 6.6 points and 1.9 rebounds across eight games, including nine points in 12 minutes during Finland’s 92-86 upset of Nikola Jokic-led Serbia in the Round of 16. He also scored five points in 10 minutes in the 92-89 loss to a Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Greece team in the third-place game, had 12 points against Germany in the semifinal, grabbed four rebounds against Great Britain in pool play, and blocked four shots against Lithuania.
He also appeared for Finland in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers, the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Spain and the 2023 U16 Euro Championship A.
At Partizan KK during the 2025-26 season, Muurinen played in 14 games overall, including eight in the ABA League and six in EuroLeague play. He made his ABA League debut Oct. 6 in a win over Krka, finishing with seven points, two rebounds, two assists and a block in 17 minutes.
One of his final outings came Dec. 28, 2025, when he scored a season-high 10 points against KK Split in an ABA game. He finished with 33 points and 23 rebounds in ABA play and added one point in EuroLeague games before leaving Partizan in late-February 2026 to pursue college basketball in the NCAA.
His path to Arkansas also included a strong prep career. He played his junior season at AZ Compass Prep in Arizona after moving to the United States for his sophomore year at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas. In the summer of 2024, he suited up for Bradley Beal U16 Elite and helped win the Nike EYBL Peach Jam, scoring 21 points in the title game.
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