Iowa's Bennett Stirtz Could Win Major Award

Iowa Hakweyes senior point guard Bennett Stirtz has been selected for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The selection places Stirtz among the nation's 20 most elite floor generals of the 2026 College Basketball season.

The Cousy Award, established in 2004 and named after Boston Celtics legend and Class of 1971 Hall of Famer Bob Cousy, is given to the best point guard of the year. The award is part of the Naismith Starting Five positional honors, which include the Jerry West Award (shooting guard), Julius Erving Award (small forward), Karl Malone Award (power forward), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center).

Stirtz competes alongside an outstanding collection of point guard prospects for the 2026 Cousy Award. Among the nominees are Purdue's Braden Smith, the reigning winner, and Kansas' highly-touted freshman Darryn Peterson.

👀🗒️@bennett_stirtz ➡️ Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch List pic.twitter.com/TDH5c9COu7
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) October 27, 2025

The watch list also features Labaron Philon (Alabama), Darius Acuff (Arkansas), Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn), Robert Wright III (BYU), Boogie Fland (Florida), Milos Uzan (Houston), Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State), Jaland Lowe (Kentucky), Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville), Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State), Markus Burton (Notre Dame), Bruce Thornton (Ohio State), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee), Christian Anderson (Texas Tech), Silas Demary Jr. (UConn) and Donovan Dent (UCLA).

The voting process for the 2026 Cousy Award begins October 31, followed by a narrowing to 10 finalists in late January and five semifinalists in late February. The award recipient will be determined in March following evaluation by Bob Cousy, Nancy Lieberman, and members of the Hall of Fame selection committee.

Bennett Stirtz Iowa Hawkeyes — Bennett Stirtz stands for a photo during Iowa Men's Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye arena in Iowa City, Oct. 15, 2025. | Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bennett Stirtz Eyeing Individual Honor in First Season With Hawkeyes

The watch list honors Stirtz's standout season at Drake following his time at Northwest Missouri State. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 180 pounds, the guard from Liberty, Missouri earned All-MIAA accolades during his Division II tenure before transferring to the Bulldogs.

In the 2024-25 season at Drake, Stirtz started in all 39 games, leading the nation in minutes played. He averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game while shooting splits of 49.8% from the field, 39.5% from beyond the arc, and 79.4% from the free throw line.

Stirtz earned Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year and MVC Newcomer of the Year accolades. He was also named MVC tournament MVP and First-team All-MVC.

Stirtz played under Ben McCollum at Northwest Missouri State and tagged along with him to Drake last year. The point guard then followed the head coach to Iowa this year.

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