Nika Muhl did not make her anticipated WNBA debut in the Seattle Storm regular-season opener against the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday. Instead, the former UConn women’s basketball point guard is stuck in limbo she awaits approval for a U.S. work visa.
Muhl is a Croatian citizen, and visa issues caused her to miss both the Storm’s preseason game in Edmonton, Canada against Los Angeles Sparks on May 4 and the home opener against the Lynx. She was allowed to play in Seattle’s home preseason matchup with the Phoenix Mercury on May 7 because she had not yet officially graduated from UConn, so she could still compete in the U.S. under her existing student visa. Muhl logged six points on 2-for-3 shooting from the field plus three rebounds and two assists in that game.
With Muhl’s graduation now official, she cannot appear for the Storm until her professional work visa is approved. The process of receiving the P-1 visa that most international athletes work under in America can take three to six months, but Muhl’s will likely be expedited as much as possible with the WNBA season already underway. Seattle’s next game is a rematch with Minnesota on Friday, and the team has not yet made a statement on her status.
UPDATED Game Status Report for tonight’s season opener vs the Minnesota Lynx:
Nika Mühl – OUT (Pending Visa Approval)#RoadToRecovery https://t.co/iPqakFbWRA
— Seattle Storm PR (@SeattleStormPR) May 15, 2024
The Storm appeared prepared for Muhl to compete in their opener Tuesday: She was not listed on the team’s original availability report the day before the game, and Seattle’s official X account posted a video of Muhl’s tunnel entrance captioned, “Ready for her debut” just over an hour before she was ruled out against the Lynx.
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.
