The Duke basketball program made the cut for the final seven schools in contention for five-star forward Miikka Muurinen, one of the top prospects in the class of 2026. However, North Carolina might have the edge over the Blue Devils, as Muurinen's mom played college basketball at UNC.
An in-state battle is now heating up for the forward's services as Duke, UNC, and NC State are all in the final seven. Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas round out the list.
Despite head coach Jon Scheyer's recruiting prowess throughout his time at the helm for Duke, securing the No. 1 overall recruiting class in both 2024 and 2025, the Tar Heels have a big advantage on their hands as the top recruit's mom is a former Tar Heel. Jenni Laaksonen, Muurinen's mother, played for the UNC women's basketball team from 2001 to 2003.
Appearing in 52 games for North Carolina throughout her two seasons in Chapel Hill, Laaksonen averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds a game.
A personal tie to a school is always a really difficult thing for the other programs in contention to overcome, but with Scheyer's elite recruiting ability, Duke is still very much in the running for Muurinen.
Muurinen is the No. 9 overall prospect, No. 2 power forward, and No. 1 player out of the state of Arizona per the 247Sports 2026 Composite Rankings. The 6'10, 185-pound forward attends Compass Prep (AZ).
The recruit doesn't have any official visits scheduled at this point, but has already taken an official visit to both Arkansas and Michigan.
Earlier on in his recruitment, Muurinen was considering a reclassification into the class of 2025, but ultimately elected to remain as a 2026 prospect.
Duke will be looking to get the forward in for a visit soon, adding to the already elite list of top prospects already slated for an official visit in Durham. Brandon McCoy (No. 2 point guard in class of 2026), Jordan Smith (No. 1 shooting guard in class of 2026), and Austin Goosby (No. 6 shooting guard in class of 2026) all have official visits scheduled for the fall of 2025.
Scheyer has yet to seal a commitment from a member of the class of 2026.