‘Home away from home’
Muhl, Edwards embraced by Huskies family on biggest night of their lives
NEW YORK — As Nika Muhl made her way to the stage after she was selected by the Seattle Storm in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Uconn women’s basketball point guard stopped to share a tight, tearful embrace with Aaliyah Edwards’ mother, Jacqueline, at the table next to hers.
Muhl couldn’t hug her own parents back home in Zagreb, Croatia, on draft night, but the Huskies’ senior had plenty of loved ones beside her at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Monday. Younger sister Hana, who recently transferred to continue her college hoops career at Manhattan, was there, plus Uconn coach Geno Auriemma, associate head coach Chris Dailey and assistant coach Morgan Valley. Teammates Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Aubrey Griffin also made the trip to New York to cheer on both Muhl and Edwards from the sold-out audience.
The Huskies may not be blood relatives, but Muhl doesn’t consider them anything less than family.
“I was so positively overwhelmed, and just having all of them around me — all my people in the stands, at the table, knowing that my family, my friends from back home are watching — it’s surreal,” Muhl said. “I’m just so grateful to be able to call them my sisters and my family and have such great support even though I’m not home. This is my home away from home. They are my home away from home.”
Auriemma and Muhl have a profound connection, bonded by the gratitude and motivation from what the Uconn coach calls
a “Coming to America” mentality. Auriemma’s family immigrated to the United States from Montella, Italy, when he was 7 years old, where he grew up without running water or electricity.
“Every single thing in the culture that he built in that program aligns with me and who I am as a person
“I was so positively overwhelmed, and just having all of them around me — all my people in the stands, at the table, knowing that my family, my friends from back home are watching — it’s surreal.”
and who I strive to be,” Muhl said. “He’s not just my coach, he’s my best friend. He’s been there from the start. When I failed, through the worst things, through the best things, he always stuck by my side and never left. I’ll cherish that bond and that relationship that I have with him forever.”
Chosen with the No. 14 overall pick, Muhl joins a long legacy of Huskies legends in Seattle. Sue Bird — whose No. 10 jersey Muhl wore at Uconn — led the franchise to four WNBA titles over her 20 years in the league, and two of those came alongside former Uconn star Breanna Stewart. Bird’s No. 10 Storm jersey was retired by the team in 2023, so Muhl will have to look for a new number at the next level.
Bird has long been a hero of Muhl’s, but following in her footsteps at the professional level is an accomplishment beyond even her childhood imagination. Muhl was almost never able to watch women’s basketball games on TV or in person growing up in Croatia, and the sport is still incredibly small in her home country compared to the explosive growth of the last several years in the U.S.
“I would sit in my living room with Youtube and find games or highlights or anything that I could. I remember watching Brittney Griner in my living room,” Muhl said. “This was something that I didn’t even dare to dream about. I always felt like it was such a reach. It was something far beyond me and bigger than me. But luckily I had people around me — my teammates, my friends, my family, my coaches, everybody — that made me believe in it, too.”
Going through the WNBA Draft process was even sweeter for Muhl because of Edwards, who was drafted No. 6 overall by the Washington Mystics. Both were invited to attend the event in person, and it felt like a full-circle moment for
Muhl to share the transition to the next level with the first friend she made from Uconn. The pair first met before either was committed to the Huskies at the NBA’S Basketball Without Borders camp and have been practically inseparable ever since.
“Aaliyah has been there from the start. That’s my sister. That’s my family,” Muhl said. “I loved her instantly. Our bond is so strong that we don’t need (any) words. You can just feel it. You can feel the energy. To be able to here with her and share this has been nothing but incredible, and something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life, because it would not be the same if she wasn’t here with me.”