The agonizing wait for Bennett Stirtz is over.
After months of preparation and anticipation, the former Iowa men's basketball star heard his lifelong dream get revealed during the 2026 NBA Draft in New York City on Tuesday.
Stirtz was projected as a first round draft pick from the moment he put on an Iowa uniform, and the Memphis Grizzlies agreed, selecting Stirtz with the 16th overall pick in the draft.
But immediately after this story was posted, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the Grizzlies traded Stirtz to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The fit for Stirtz is pristine there, as the Thunder have been one of the NBA's best teams and should contend for their second title in three years next season.
Stirtz becomes the first Hawkeye to be selected in the first round since Kris Murray in 2023 and the 59th draftee in program history.
While other top selections like AJ Dybansta and Darryn Peterson knew they would be high selections long before entering this draft, the NBA was far from a guarantee for Stirtz.
Then-Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum was the only coach to give Stirtz a chance, and he took the opportunity and ran with it. After two successful Division II seasons at Northwest, Stirtz followed McCollum to Drake for the 2024-25 campaign.
The rest, as they say, is history. Stirtz broke out as one of the nation's top point guards for the Bulldogs that season, scoring 19.2 points per game en route to winning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.
Drake won 31 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, resulting in McCollum getting attached to various job openings. But once Iowa opened during the Bulldogs' postseason run, McCollum jumped at the opportunity.
Stirtz could've been an NBA Draft selection at this point, but chose to follow his longtime coach to Iowa City and help jumpstart the Hawkeye program.
And jumpstart he did.
After an up-and-down regular season that saw Stirtz lead Iowa in points, assists, and steals per game, the Hawkeyes embarked on a Cinderella NCAA tournament run that saw them end decades of postseason frustration. Iowa advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987, re-energizing the enthusiasm for Hawkeye basketball in the state of Iowa.
Stirtz's scoring ability was well-documented, but his durability is also what probably caught the eye of NBA scouts. He averaged over 37 minutes per game last season - the fourth-most of any player in the country and the second-most by a Power Four conference player.
Though his Iowa career was short, Stirtz felt like he accomplished his goal of helping McCollum revive Iowa basketball.
"I feel like people are excited and they want to come play for the Hawkeyes now. I mean, if you're a recruit you should be excited, and should want to come and play for Coach Mac," Stirtz said after Iowa's Elite Eight loss on March 28. "He's [McCollum] a winner. And if you want to win games, obviously you should come and play here."
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io
