Overview
- Iowa’s NCAA Tournament run ended with a 71–59 loss to Illinois in the Elite Eight, where senior guard Bennett Stirtz scored 24 points in his final college game.
- Speaking in the locker room after the loss, Stirtz made a direct pitch to prospects, saying, “If you wanna be a great point guard, you should come to Iowa.”
- Head coach Ben McCollum praised Stirtz’s rise and said he “earned his way to the NBA,” adding, “he’ll play in the NBA.”
- ESPN analyst Jeremy Woo has Stirtz in late–first–round range, ranking him No. 22 in February and projecting him No. 20 to the Miami Heat in a March mock draft.
- Stirtz’s climb from Division II Northwest Missouri State to Drake and then Iowa under McCollum included a 2025–26 season averaging 19.8 points and 4.4 assists, a blueprint Iowa is now using to pitch player development.