Calipari likely to send staffer to Europe to see coveted 2026 5-star recruit

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas coach John Calipari understands the value of pursuing international talent to help build his rosters, and currently he has set his sights on one of the top prospects in Europe.

2026 Miikka Muurinen (6-10 stretch-4, AZ Compass Prep, Finland native, national No. 10, 5-star prospect) took an official visit to Arkansas in September of 2024.

He recently put out a list of his Top 7 schools, which included the Razorbacks, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Indiana.

Just prior to taking his Arkansas visit, Muurinen also took OV's to Utah and Michigan in September 2024, and a source at the time told us that Muurinen told him that his stop in Fayetteville stood out the most in a favorable way compared to the other two visits.

It remains to be seen if Muurinen will schedule and take more visits before deciding on the Division 1 school he will eventually attend.

Muurinen just began competing again after skipping the spring-and-summer grassroots season in the United States after starring on that very stage a year ago.

Earlier this month he resumed playing in EuroBasket and now he'll shift his focus to Euro Cup (Aug. 27-Sept. 14), which is taking place at four different sites for group-phase games: Cyprus, Finland, Latvia, and Poland.

A source recently told us Calipari is likely to send Arkansas associate head coach Chin Coleman overseas to watch Muurinen and other elite-level European prospects compete in the event.

In July 2024, Muurinen was named MVP after teaming up with 2026 5-star Arkansas commit JaShawn "JJ" Andrews to win the Nike E16 Peach Jam title in North Augusta, S.C.

For more than a year Muurinen has flirted with the idea of re-classifying to 2025, but that notion seems to have faded in recent months.

According to Jonathan Wasserman, the NBA Draft expert at Bleacher Report, Muurinen projects as the No. 12 overall pick (first-round draft lottery) in the 2027 NBA Draft.

Muurinen is tall, long, and bouncy. His offensive skills as a ball-handler and perimeter shooter are elite for his size and position, he's a constant lob-and-dunk threat in both halfcourt and fast-break scenarios, and defensively he's an effective rim-protector as a shot-blocker.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari on the sidelines against the Missouri Tigers at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

Listed below are other Arkansas recruits with their visit dates included.

• Aug. 29-31: Caleb Holt (6-5 guard, Prolific Prep, native of Huntsville, Ala., national No. 2, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 12-14: Arafan Diane (7-0 center, Iowa United Prep, native of Guinea, national No. 6, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 20-21: Jordan Smith, Jr. (6-2 combo guard, Fairfax, Va., national No. 2, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 26-28: Tay Kinney (6-2 guard, Overtime Elite, native of Newport, Ky., national No. 12, 5-star prospect)

• Oct. 3-5: Cole Cloer (6-7 small forward / wing, native of Hillsborough, N.C., national Top 25 prospect)

• Dates TBA (already finalized): Abdou Toure (6-6 wing, Notre Dame high school in West Haven, Conn., national No. 20, 5-star prospect)

• Dates TBD: Baba Oladotun (6-10 combo forward, Siler Springs, Md., national Top 10, 5-star prospect)

• Dates TBD: Chase Foster (6-8 forward, Baltimore, Md., national No. 38, 4-star prospect)

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