Even though he has not played an official game for the Iowa Men's Basketball squad, the hype surrounding Bennett Stirtz is off the charts.
Last season for the Drake Bulldogs, Stirtz led the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in points per game (19.1), steals per game (2.1), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.86).
He was also second in the MVC in assists per game (5.7), and led the NCAA in minutes per game (39:22).
Before his final season of college eligibility ran out, it was rumored that Stirtz was going to make the jump to the NBA.
He ultimately decided to follow Head Coach Ben McCollum to Iowa City for one more season of college hoops.
Stirtz has not taken the court yet for the Iowa Hawkeyes, but has already been named preseason First-Team All-Big Ten and Second-Team All-American selections.
He was also added to the Bob Cousy Award Watchlist. The Bob Cousy Award is presented annually to the best point guard in college basketball.
As his award nominations continue to pile up, he added another one this week.
That Guy 👀@bennett_stirtz x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/tN9wqCWjie
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) October 30, 2025
Stirtz was added to the NABC Preseason Player of the Year Watchlist a few days before Iowa begin the 2025-2026 college basketball season.
Stirtz joins four other players from the Big Ten who made the list, including Braden Smith (Purdue), Donovan Dent (UCLA), Trey Kaufman-Ren (Purdue), and Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan).
The award will be voted on by multiple Division I coaches at the conclusion of the regular season, and will be presented during the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.