Iowa Guard Named to Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List

Time and time again, Bennett Stirtz sees his name attached to some sort of award or watch list. In the "late midseason" things are no different for the Iowa Hawkeyes senior guard.

Stirtz was named to the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List. While it's a lengthy title, the Wooden Award is given each and every year to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players.

This award, unlike the Bob Cousy Award, is a general award and isn't solely focused on point guards. There's a chance Stirtz could end his collegiate career with both the Bob Cousy and Wooden Award, though that'll be much easier said than done.

The competition is stiff for the Wooden Award, though it's tremendous to still see Stirtz' name in the mix. He was focused earlier in the year, but the nomination proves he's kept up at a high pace and one that makes him a Top 20 player in college basketball.

Extremely Competitive Wooden Award

Stacking Honors. 🐤@bennett_stirtz was named to the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List! pic.twitter.com/i7FFYUMFcN
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 10, 2026

Stirtz is one of the lone seniors in the Top 20. Freshman have dominated the rankings, as they have all year long. The likes of Duke's Cameron Boozer, BYU's AJ Dybansta, Kansas' Darryn Peterson and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson are easily the frontrunners.

Stirtz has had quite a career and he isn't about to let four freshman stop him. Having been alongside Ben McCollum for most of his collegiate journey, it would be quite a cherry on top if he's able to win the Wooden Award in place of a National Championship. That said, why not both?

Can't Stop Bennett Stirtz

USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week! ☑️👏@bennett_stirtz x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/C9V2VMqjlU
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 10, 2026

The B1G has had no choice but to recognize Stirtz in back to back weeks as he was named Co-Player of the Week twice in a row. He'd love to win that for himself one week, but thankfully he still has a few chances to make that a reality.

With the season winding down, Stirtz could make quite an impression this week at Maryland, a team who just defeated No. 10 Michigan State, and against No. 13 Purdue, a team coming to town for Iowa's first sold out home game in years.

Stirtz has led this team in scoring all but one time in 2026. Granted, one of those he had 20 points alongside Tavion Banks, the other times he led the way all by himself. That's quite impressive, to say the least, as he's led the way in 10 of Iowa's last 11.

Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!