{"id":685278,"date":"2026-03-29T02:57:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T02:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/685278\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T02:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T02:57:20","slug":"bennett-stirtz-2026-nba-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/685278\/","title":{"rendered":"Bennett Stirtz 2026 NBA Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Iowa Hawkeyes just wrapped up their most historic run in years. Bennett Stirtz<\/a> led the Hawkeyes to this year\u2019s Elite Eight, where they ultimately fell to Illinois. He has been one of the most important figures for first-year head coach Ben McCollum. Not to mention that Stirtz has shown his star power at every level of basketball he\u2019s played. His performances at Iowa only elevated his draft stock.<\/p>\n

Stirtz\u2019s name has been lighting up the draft boards as far back as last season. Iowa\u2019s run will only grow the buzz for him. Let\u2019s take a closer look at Stirtz\u2019s 2026 NBA Draft profile.<\/p>\n

Bennett Stirtz 2026 NBA Draft Profile<\/p>\n

College Career<\/p>\n

One of the many well-traveled stars in the Big Ten, Stirtz has had quite a strong collegiate career. He began by playing at the NCAA Division II level at Northwestern Missouri State. After two stellar campaigns there, he followed his coach, Ben McCollum, to the D1 level with the Drake Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

Once at Drake, Stirtz started to show that he could make an impact at a national level. He helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Tournament and was named the MVC Player of the Year, as they reached the Round of 32.<\/p>\n

Like his previous tenure at the D2 level, Bennett Stirtz followed his coach to Iowa and the Big Ten prior to this season. It has completely paid off, as Stirtz was named First-team All Big Ten alongside other strong guards like Braden Smith<\/a> and Jeremy Fears Jr<\/a>. He was the floor leader for an Iowa team that reached its first Elite Eight since 1987. Heading into Saturday\u2019s matchup, Stirtz averaged 19.7 points and 4.4 assists.<\/p>\n

Stirtz was heroic in his final game, with 24 points, but it wasn\u2019t enough to stop Illinois, who defeated Iowa 71-59. Regardless of how it ended, he has more than proven he is a knockdown shooter.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Strengths
\nOffense<\/p>\n

Talk about a playmaker. Bennett Stirtz is oozing with confidence and potential. You\u2019re talking about a player who has delivered at every level he\u2019s played at. Division II, Drake, and Iowa<\/a>, Stirtz was a pure shooter. Whether he\u2019s defended or not, Stirtz is going to take a shot. More often than not, he has the ball in his hands with seconds left on the clock. He can make game winners or stop opposing runs.<\/p>\n

If you need that kill shot, Stirtz has it. He has a high volume of shots from the outside. He averaged nearly seven three-point attempts per game while shooting 36 percent from deep. Stirtz\u2019s step back proved to be hard to stop. He isn\u2019t afraid to let it fly while contested.<\/p>\n

At 6-foot-4, he can help drive the offense just as much as being the go-to scorer. Stirtz isn\u2019t afraid to set up his teammates, with a respectable 4.5 assists per game this season.<\/p>\n

He has a nice touch around the rim despite his 180-pound frame. Not only can he get to the basket and finish there, but he also has that floater teams will appreciate when going against much bigger defenders.<\/p>\n

Sure, the 36 percent isn\u2019t the flashiest, but when Stirtz was in a catch-and-shoot situation from deep, he nailed 51.7 percent of those attempts.<\/p>\n

Defense<\/p>\n

While he isn\u2019t the flashiest defender, Stirtz\u2019s overall basketball IQ stands out. It\u2019s huge on the offensive side of the ball, which only helps him on defense. That defensive IQ allows Stirtz to make timely plays and be active with his hands, despite not having the athleticism to lock down players.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s got good hands, which allow him to deflect balls in the passing lane, but other than that, defensively, he needs more polishing.<\/p>\n

Weaknesses
\n\"MarMar 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) looks on during the second half against the Clemson Tigers during a first-round game of the men\u2019s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
\nOffense<\/p>\n

Stirtz does have a couple of key concerns before heading to the league. Can he get enough paint touches? Guards in the NBA must be able to score near the rim, a lot, especially in the biggest of moments. He\u2019s got good height, but his weight could be an issue, as he tends to pick up his dribble too early and throw up a low percentage shot.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s going to have that killer instinct from outside the three-point line, it\u2019s hard to say he will have enough athleticism to be a go-to player at all three levels. He was clearly the go-to guy at Iowa, but in the NBA, his ceiling could be limited, and he might just become a three-point specialist.<\/p>\n

Defense<\/p>\n

Big-time shooters will always face the question of whether or not they can play defense. This isn\u2019t a shot at Stirtz by any means, but defense is the biggest concern for his chances in this draft, not to mention his pro future.<\/p>\n

Is he going to be an All-Defensive player? No, but he needs to be able to stop someone on the floor. That\u2019s the biggest issue with Stirtz, honestly. It\u2019s not a lack of being in position on defense; he just doesn\u2019t have the mobility. He struggles to move his feet laterally and can be overpowered by stronger players.<\/p>\n

That only adds to his trouble getting around screens. Unless he develops a way to improve on switches, he\u2019s in for a tough time at the next level.<\/p>\n

NBA Comparison<\/p>\n

Stirtz will have a lot to live up to if he wants to match either of the following comparisons. Offensively, he is on par with Andrew Nembhard<\/a>. Sure, Nembhard is a far superior defender, but Stirtz can hit big threes, and the moment is never too big. Stirtz is certainly an odd player. There aren\u2019t too many prospects who have the shooting prowess and the defensive limits that he has.<\/p>\n

Duncan Robinson<\/a> is a much taller player, but if Stirtz can get anywhere near what Robinson brings to the table as an outside scoring threat, he could very well become a key cog on a roster, with far better passing ability.<\/p>\n

2026 NBA Draft Projection<\/p>\n

Late Lottery to Mid 1st Round<\/a><\/p>\n

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Iowa Hawkeyes just wrapped up their most historic run in years. Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":685279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[25086,7,2466,3755,6,12,60446],"class_list":["post-685278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba-draft","tag-2026-nba-draft","tag-basketball","tag-bennett-stirtz","tag-iowa-hawkeyes","tag-nba","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-draft-profile"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=685278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/685279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}