In his first season as head coach, Ben McCollum took Iowa men’s basketball to heights we haven’t seen in 30 years.
McCollum guided the Hawkeyes to their first Elite Eight since 1987, and Bennett Stirtz was a major reason why. Stirtz began his college career with McCollum at Northwest Missouri State before following him to Drake and finally Iowa, improving every season. He made the jump from mid-major to Division I look a lot easier than it is, prompting Oklahoma City to select him in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. With the NBA regular season approaching quickly, Stirtz continues to reward the Thunder for their faith in him.
Stirtz went off in his preseason debut, proving OKC made the right choice
Stirtz was a force for the Hawkeyes last season, averaging a team-leading 19.8 points and 1.4 steals per game, along with 4.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds. Stirtz was already on the radar of multiple NBA organizations after his solid 2024-2025 campaign with Drake, but he decided to return to school for his final collegiate season to join McCollum at Iowa. After OKC selected Stirtz with the No. 16 overall pick, he consistently proved why he will force his way into the rotation with multiple high-level performances in the NBA Summer League.
In five NBA Summer League games, Stirtz averaged 14.4 points and 3.4 assists per game, shooting 45 percent from the field and 30 percent from beyond the arc. He continued his hot stretch of play with another solid performance, this time against the New Orleans Pelicans in the Thunder’s first 2026 preseason game…