Drake guard Bennett Stirtz will transfer to Iowa, according to multiple reports. The AP Honorable Mention All-American led the Bulldogs in points (19.2), assists (5.6), steals (2.1) and minutes (39.4) this season en route to earning the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Player of the Year Award. He also added 4.3 rebounds per contest for the MVC regular season and tournament champion Bulldogs.
Stirtz will follow his head coach, Ben McCollum to Iowa City after the former Drake head man was officially named to the position on Monday.
A guard who can't get sped up and plays at his own pace, Stirtz's abilities to score and make others around him better could easily translate to the Big Ten level. He plays a similar style to Josh Dix.
For those wondering if he can replicate his season averages against high-major opponents, he did just that at Drake this year. The junior put up 21 points, five assists and six rebounds against Miami (FL), 16 points, 11 assists and five rebounds against Vanderbilt and 22 points and four assists against Kansas State within a span of five weeks. He also hit the game-winner against the Wildcats.
In the NCAA Tournament, Stirtz posted 21 points against both Missouri and Texas Tech while shooting 17-of-30 from the field. He added eight assists against the Red Raiders.
Stirtz, who is entering his final year of eligibility, has played for McCollum all three seasons of his college basketball career. Prior to Drake, Stirtz was at Northwest Missouri State with McCollum and became a two-time second-team All-MIAA member, while also earning the 2022-23 MIAA Freshman of the Year. That season, he averaged 12.6 points, while recording most steals by any NCAA Division II freshman (65).
In year two, he started all 34 games, ranking second on the team in scoring (15.2 ppg) and was named to Central Region All-Tournament team.
As a high school recruit, Stirtz received zero Division I offers. At Liberty High School in Missouri, Stirtz was a two-time Missouri Class 6 all-state choice, averaging 18.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.5 steals as senior.
Stirtz is the first player to publicly announce his decision to transfer to Iowa.
Stay tuned in with Hawkeye Beacon as we cover McCollum's search to fill out his staff, add more players via the portal and the high school ranks and works with the athletic department to grow the program.
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