By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Bennett Stirtz has now joined select company as just the third former Iowa point guard to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Stirtz earned that distinction on Tuesday when the Memphis Grizzlies picked him in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, and with the 16th  pick overall.

He was then immediately traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Stirtz, a 6-foot-4 native of Liberty, Missouri, now joins Hawkeye legends Ronnie Lester and B.J. Armstrong as the only point guards in program history to be picked in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Lester was picked by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 10th pick overall in the 1980 NBA Draft, while Armstrong was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 18th pick overall in the 1989 NBA Draft.

Stirtz attended the first round of the draft on Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York as an invited guest. He was accompanied by his family, and by Iowa head coach Ben McCollum, who was Stirtz’s head coach throughout college at three different schools: Northwest Missouri State, Drake and Iowa.

Stirtz is coming off a senior season in which he led Iowa to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.

He also led Iowa in scoring (19.8), 3-point baskets ( assists (163) and steal (51) in his only season as a Hawkeye.

Stirtz finished his college career with over 2,000 career points after playing for Northwest Missouri State as a freshman and sophomore under McCollum and for Drake as a junior while also playing under McCollum.

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 was among six former Drake players that followed McCollum to Iowa after McCollum was hired as head coach in late March 2025.

McCollum would go on to become just the second head coach in program history to lead Iowa to the Elite Eight in his first season since Tom Davis in 1987.

The Hawkeyes only finished 10-10 in Big Ten play, but that was enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Stirtz and his cohorts then seized the moment by winning three straight games against Clemson, No. 1 seed and defending national champion Florida and Nebraska before falling to Illinois 71-59 in the Elite Eight.

Iowa NBA first-round picks

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)