Former UConn star Nika Muhl finally set to make WNBA debut. Here’s what happened with that visa issue
After more than a week of waiting, Nika Muhl may finally make her WNBA debut Wednesday night.
The former UConn women’s basketball star and Seattle Storm rookie missed the team’s first four games as she awaited approval for a U.S. work visa, but the issue appears to have been resolved. Muhl, a Croatian citizen, needed a P-1 visa, the status used by most international athletes, but was unable to receive it ahead of the start of the WNBA season. The process for receiving approval can take up to three to six months.
According to Howard Megdal of TheNext, Muhl’s visa was approved by the U.S. on Friday, but she still needed to make a trip to Canada to have her status changed.
On Tuesday, the official X account of the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver posted a photo of Muhl with Consul General Jim DeHart.
“CG DeHart was glad to meet @WNBA star @MuhlNika today in Vancouver,” the post read. “We look forward to seeing the @SeattleStorm vs. @IndianaFever Wednesday. Including an exciting Women’s Final Four rematch at the point guard position!”
The Storm updated their pregame status report, listing Muhl as probable for Wednesday’s game.
The Storm will face Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night in Seattle. Muhl took on the challenge of defending Clark in the Final Four last month, though Iowa edged the Huskies, 71-69, to advance to the national title game.
Though Muhl has yet to appear in a WNBA regular season game, she did make her preseason debut with the Storm on May 7 because she had not yet officially graduated from UConn at the time and was still under a student visa. She scored six points on 2-for-3 shooting from the field plus three rebounds and two assists in that game.
Muhl was selected with the No. 14 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft and became the only rookie to make Seattle’s 12-player roster for opening day. The 5-foot-11 guard left UConn as the program’s all-time assists leader with 686, helping anchor the Huskies on an unprecedented Final Four run in 2023-24. She averaged 6.9 points, 6.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds in her senior season, shooting a career-high 46.2% from the field and 40.2% from 3-point range. Muhl also earned honorable-mention All-American honors in 2024 from the Associated Press, and she was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and ’23.
Seattle is 1-3 so far on the season.
Courant women’s basketball reporter Emily Adams contributed to this report.
