BROOKLYN, N.Y. — University of Iowa men’s basketball standout Bennett Stirtz was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 16 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. He was then subsequently traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Stirtz was in attendance in Brookyln, where he was joined by family and Iowa head coach Ben McCollum.
The Liberty, Missouri, native becomes the 59th Iowa men’s basketball player to be selected in an NBA Draft, 12th taken in the first round and 25th in the top two rounds. He is the highest selection by a Hawkeye since Keegan Murray was taken fourth overall in 2023.
Stirtz is the third Hawkeye point guard selected in the first round, joining program greats Ronnie Lester and B.J. Armstrong.
Stirtz (6-foot-4, 190) earned honorable mention Associated Press and USBWA All-America honors and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media after averaging 19.8 points, 4.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals during his lone season in Iowa City. He was the only player in the nation to have 730+ points, 160+ assists, 95+ rebounds, 90+ 3-pointers and 50+ steals during the 2025-26 season.
The guard finished his senior campaign with 734 points — the fourth-most in a single season in program history. He was the third Hawkeye all-time to surpass the 700-point mark, joining Keegan Murray and Luka Garza (2). He scored in double figures in 35 of the team’s 37 games and had three 30-point and 20 20-point contests.
During Iowa’s NCAA Tournament run, Stirtz averaged 18.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in leading the Hawkeyes to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. He was named to the NCAA South Regional All-Region team for his efforts.
Stirtz, who was the recipient of the program’s prestigious Chris Street Award, finished third in Iowa’s single-season record books in field goal attempts (526) and 3-point attempts (257), fifth in 3-pointers (92) and field goals (251), 13th in assists (163), 19th in free throws (140) and 21st in steals (51). His 1,396 minutes during the season were a program record as he played 40+ minutes 17 times.
For his career, Stirtz finished with 2,352 points, 595 assists, 500 rebounds and 235 steals in stops at Northwest Missouri State, Drake and Iowa. He became the 11th college player all-time to have 2,000+ points, 550+ assists, 450+ rebounds and 225+ steals.
Stirtz’s rise was remarkable.
He went from being an under-recruited prospect with zero Division I offers to a second-team all-conference honoree for the Bearcats at the Division II level. After moving to Division I, he was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year for the Bulldogs before taking his game to the Power 5 and earning first-team All-Big Ten and All-America recognition as a Hawkeye.
Stirz won 115 games (.821 career winning percentage) as a collegian; now he’s off to Oklahoma City and the NBA.
Iowa’s First Round Draft Picks
1952 – Chuck Darling (No. 9 Rochester)
1970 – John Johnson (No. 7 Cleveland)
1971 – Freddy Brown (No. 6 Seattle)
1973 – Kevin Kunnert (No. 12 Chicago)
1980 – Ronnie Lester (No. 10 Portland)
1989 – B.J. Armstrong (No. 18 Chicago)
1989 – Roy Marble (No. 23 Atlanta)
1993 – Acie Earl (No. 19 Boston)
1998 – Ricky Davis (No. 21 Chicago)
2022 – Keegan Murray (No. 4 Sacramento)
2023 – Kris Murray (No. 23 Portland)
2026 – Bennett Stirtz (No. 16 Memphis; traded to OKC)
