Iowa Hawkeyes Transfer Addition Receives Massive NBA Draft Outlook

The Iowa Hawkeyes have been incredibly active in the transfer portal this offseason, which is really by necessity due to the fact that most of their roster scattered following the firing of Fran McCaffery.

New head coach Ben McCollum has certainly landed some intriguing additions and has specifically pilfered his former Drake Bulldogs club to build his new roster at Iowa.

The most prominent transfer McCollum bagged was Bennett Stirtz, who won the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award this past season.

Well, ESPN's Jonathan Givony seems to think Stirtz's decision to make the move to Iowa City was a good one, as he feels that the 6-foot-4 guard could ultimately be a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

"NBA scouts won't complain about having a full season to evaluate Stirtz in the Big Ten, where they'll get a better feel for how his impressive ballhandling, ability to change speeds, touch and creativity finishing around the basket translate for a full season," Givony wrote. "Stirtz is a dynamic perimeter shooter who is one of the best passers and decision-makers in college basketball but getting a better gauge for his defense and how he handles coaches planning against him on a nightly basis will surely shed light on how high he should be selected next June."

Stirtz spent the first couple of seasons of his collegiate career playing on the Division II level, suiting up for McCollum at Northwest Missouri State. He then followed McCollum to Drake, where he averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game on 49.8/39.5/79.4 shooting splits last season.

The Bulldogs went 31-4 and won an NCAA Tournament game during the 2024-25 campaign, so Stirtz already has some big-game experience on the D1 level.

We'll see if he can improve his game even further with the Hawkeyes next year.

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