Frontcourt help is finally on the way, as Arkansas has landed international sensation Miikka Muurinen.
The Razorbacks still need more big men, but adding a skilled 7-footer to replace Trevon Brazile at power forward is a step in the right direction for John Calipari and his staff.
Monday’s announcement ended what had been an 18-month saga, which started with Arkansas hosting the Finnish star in the fall of 2024. It was unclear how hard the Razorbacks were pursuing him of late, but Muurinen told ESPN that they never let up.
“Since my visit a year and a half ago, they’ve been consistent and committed to recruiting me,” Muurinen said. “They’ve always shown interest. They’ve been very consistent, and they’ve gotten to know me as a person. That’s been very important to me.
“When I left my Arkansas visit, I was not only excited about the program but also about the people, and I said to myself, ‘Those are the type of people I want to be around on a daily basis.’”
While playing in the U.S., first at Sunrise Christian as a sophomore and then AZ Compass Prep as a junior, Muurinen was tabbed a top-15 recruit in the 2026 class by virtually every outlet.
Many sites removed him from their class rankings when he went overseas to play professionally in Serbia this past season, but he’s still rated as a five-star prospect on ESPN and 247Sports. That means Arkansas now has a school-record four incoming five-star recruits for 2026-27.
JJ Andrews and Abdou Toure signed with the Razorbacks in November, while Jordan Smith Jr. – the No. 2 player in the class – is set to finally put pen to paper Monday. Plus, they might not yet be done.
Even by Calipari’s lofty standards, it’s shaping up to be an elite group of freshmen.
Arkansas Jumps to No. 1
The addition of Miikka Muurinen shot Arkansas up from No. 6 to No. 1 in the 247Sports Composite rankings for the Class of 2026.
With Jordan Smith Jr., JJ Andrews and Abdou Toure already on board, Arkansas has jumped Kansas, Oklahoma State, Michigan and Duke en route to the top spot in the class for the first time in the modern recruiting rankings era.
The previous high point for the Razorbacks came in 2022, when Eric Musselman inked the No. 2 class by landing six top-100 players. The five-star trio of Nick Smith Jr., Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh headlined that crop.
