The Seattle Storm star was left out of the roster as confusion reigned on Tuesday

Nika Muhl was poised to make her WNBA debut on Tuesday night as the Seattle Storm faced off against the Minnesota Lynx, until a mixture of social media confusion and red tape kept her waiting.

The UConn star was selected as the 14th overall pick in the second round of the WNBA draft in April to big excitement from fans in the region.

She was signed by Seattle, who created a spot on its roster by trading Jade Melbourne to Washington in exchange for a future draft pick, along with Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike.

The Croatian player, 23, made the roster for the Tuesday night clash and decided to mark the occasion with a memorable outfit. Arriving at the venue, she caught the eye with a daring look, wearing a black sports bra underneath a dark blazer and flared dark blue jeans, with heeled shoes covered by her denim.

The Storm‘s official X account tried to whip up some excitement about her impending WNBA bow, tweeting: “Ready for her debut”, with the video of Muhl walking into the stadium earning 2.1 million views and over 13,000 likes.

However, Muhl did not feature for the Storm against at the Climate Pledge Arena, which caused confusion amongst the fans about why she had been omitted after the original post said she would be playing.

Why didn’t Nika Muhl play?

The mistake was made by the team’s social media manager, Hayley Robinson, who claimed she wasn’t made aware of Muhl‘s withdrawal: “I promise I didn’t know she wasn’t playing when I posted this,” Robinson wrote on X from her personal account.

It later emerged Seattle were planning to give the rookie her debut, but her visa was still pending approval and it meant she did not receive clearance to play.

To make matters worse, the Storm went on to lose 83-70 to the Lynx, spoiling the Seattle debuts of Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike, while Muhl watched on from the sidelines.

Before she was due on the court for her first WNBA action, Muhl had spoken about her journey from the NCAA to WNBA and support from her coaches.

“It’s a lot and it’s not easy. You get thrown into a lot of stuff,” she said. “The coaches are so supportive, but at the same time they challenge you and everybody is so competitive.”