Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Nevada [Exh] on October 17, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
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Men's Basketball
vs Nevada [Exh]
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Featuring the Runnin’ Utes: Miro Little
1/25/2025 9:30 AM | Men's Basketball
Little and the Runnin' Utes are slated to take to the hardcourt inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center against the Baylor Bears
With the departure of the Runnin' Utes one-two punch at the point guard position at the conclusion of last season, Utah was in need of a guard to facilitate the offense. After gaining a great deal of experience in his freshman season last year, Miro Little has supplied intensity and confidence halfway through his first year in Salt Lake City.
Little was born and raised in Tampere, Finland, the second-largest populated city in the country. Little was a natural athlete as a child – and a destined hooper. His parents, La Trice Little and Kati Packalen, played college basketball at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and were coaches in Finland during his earliest years. Today, his mother is the Managing Director of Basketball in Finland, and his father referees the top basketball league. Their devotion to basketball has impacted Little's motivation to play throughout his life.
"When I was younger, they helped me a lot," Little said. "I was always in the gym with my dad. And now, it's more than them just being parents. Since I've been growing up, they've been backing off and just been parents. That's something I love about them. They just let the basketball coaches do their thing and then just be parents. And I love that."
Little constructed an impressive resume during his time in Finland, competing for many high-level teams. During his pre-collegiate basketball career, he became the youngest player to make a Finnish National Team debut since 1997 at 17 years old when he played in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in 2022.
"College and international basketball are two different games. It's a whole different world. Even now I'm still getting used to playing college basketball, but international basketball and college basketball are just so different."
After taking to the game in his home country, Little moved to the United States to get acclimated to the lifestyle and drastic transition of moving 4,800 miles across the globe.
"I always knew that I wanted to play college basketball since I was kid, and a big thing for me was coming here a year early. I went to Sunrise Christian Academy [Kans.] just to get used to living in America, staying here and being by myself and just getting used to the culture."
Entering his collegiate career, Little committed to Baylor University and made a quick impact with the Bears. The freshman guard played in 34-of-35 games as a freshman off the bench as a reserve and was 1-of-8 players and 1-of-3 freshmen to play in 30-plus games.
After one season in Waco, Little entered the transfer portal and committed to Utah in late April of 2024. The culture stood out for the transfer guard and impacted his choice greatly.
"The trust in Coach Smith and the whole coaching staff was huge. Just the way that he believes in me, and he really showed it. He was being really active and just building that relationship and believing in each other."
As Little has been a member of many teams across the world, two aspects of this year's Runnin' Utes squad stands out.
"The connectivity and the depth. I want to say both of those things are important. Going through hard times, going through rough periods, we still find a way to connect to each other and believe in each other. Believe is one of our big words as a as a team. We say it a lot in the locker room to just believe in each other, believe in yourself and good things are going to happen."
The Runnin' Utes are set to square off against the Baylor Bears for the second time this season, the first time at home. While facing his former team is an electrifying matchup for Little, the game is still business in the most competitive conference in the country.
"Just keep it simple. Don't overshoot yourself, and just treat it as another competitive game against a great team. I'm just understanding that it's my old team but at the same time, it's just another game."
Utah and Baylor are slated to take to the hardcourt inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Jan. 25 for the fifth edition of the two programs meeting.
Little was born and raised in Tampere, Finland, the second-largest populated city in the country. Little was a natural athlete as a child – and a destined hooper. His parents, La Trice Little and Kati Packalen, played college basketball at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and were coaches in Finland during his earliest years. Today, his mother is the Managing Director of Basketball in Finland, and his father referees the top basketball league. Their devotion to basketball has impacted Little's motivation to play throughout his life.
"When I was younger, they helped me a lot," Little said. "I was always in the gym with my dad. And now, it's more than them just being parents. Since I've been growing up, they've been backing off and just been parents. That's something I love about them. They just let the basketball coaches do their thing and then just be parents. And I love that."
Little constructed an impressive resume during his time in Finland, competing for many high-level teams. During his pre-collegiate basketball career, he became the youngest player to make a Finnish National Team debut since 1997 at 17 years old when he played in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in 2022.
"College and international basketball are two different games. It's a whole different world. Even now I'm still getting used to playing college basketball, but international basketball and college basketball are just so different."
After taking to the game in his home country, Little moved to the United States to get acclimated to the lifestyle and drastic transition of moving 4,800 miles across the globe.
"I always knew that I wanted to play college basketball since I was kid, and a big thing for me was coming here a year early. I went to Sunrise Christian Academy [Kans.] just to get used to living in America, staying here and being by myself and just getting used to the culture."
Entering his collegiate career, Little committed to Baylor University and made a quick impact with the Bears. The freshman guard played in 34-of-35 games as a freshman off the bench as a reserve and was 1-of-8 players and 1-of-3 freshmen to play in 30-plus games.
After one season in Waco, Little entered the transfer portal and committed to Utah in late April of 2024. The culture stood out for the transfer guard and impacted his choice greatly.
"The trust in Coach Smith and the whole coaching staff was huge. Just the way that he believes in me, and he really showed it. He was being really active and just building that relationship and believing in each other."
As Little has been a member of many teams across the world, two aspects of this year's Runnin' Utes squad stands out.
"The connectivity and the depth. I want to say both of those things are important. Going through hard times, going through rough periods, we still find a way to connect to each other and believe in each other. Believe is one of our big words as a as a team. We say it a lot in the locker room to just believe in each other, believe in yourself and good things are going to happen."
The Runnin' Utes are set to square off against the Baylor Bears for the second time this season, the first time at home. While facing his former team is an electrifying matchup for Little, the game is still business in the most competitive conference in the country.
"Just keep it simple. Don't overshoot yourself, and just treat it as another competitive game against a great team. I'm just understanding that it's my old team but at the same time, it's just another game."
Utah and Baylor are slated to take to the hardcourt inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Jan. 25 for the fifth edition of the two programs meeting.
Players Mentioned
G
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