Iowa Guard Cracks Top 25 in ESPN's Midseason Player Rankings

The Iowa Hawkeyes have one of the best players in all of college basketball.

Jan 28, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) controls the ball against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Seeing as we're roughly halfway through the regular season, the Iowa Hawkeyes need to take a step back and look at what they're working with.

Coming off an extremely odd win over USC, the Hawkeyes must get back into the swing of things after a lengthy absence.

As always, eyes are on Bennett Stirtz. The senior guard took the world by storm and was long linked as newly minted head coach Ben McCollum's right hand man.

If it weren't for Stirtz, one could argue Iowa doesn't win that game against the Trojans. His clutch free throws in the final seconds guided the team to victory, proving exactly why he's a Top 25 player.

ESPN Ranks Bennett Stirtz No. 23

Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz (14) attempts to dribble around USC forward Ezra Ausar (2) Jan. 28, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf came together to rank the Top 50 players in college basketball, with Stirtz landing in the Top 25.

"Many asked in the preseason: Could Stirtz and Ben McCollum translate their success from the mid-majors to the Big Ten? Early returns are positive," Borzello wrote. "Stirtz's numbers: 18.3 points, 5.0 assists, aren't far from what he put up last season, and he has bounced back from some subpar performances with 20-plus points in each of the past two games. Going for 27 points on 8-for-10 shooting against Donovan Dent and UCLA is arguably his standout thus far."

Stirtz is shooting 47.6% from the field which is arguably one of his greatest accomplishments. The Missouri native isn't a ball-hog, far from it, but he can take over at any given moment. Looking at Iowa's record and who stands in their way the rest of the season, Stirtz will have plenty of chances to prove himself.

Stirtz' Toughest Challenges Await

Jan 28, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) hits the game-winning free throw during the final seconds of the game against the Southern California Trojans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

February 14-17 sees Iowa take on No. 12 Purdue and No. 5 Nebraska. To end the year, they must play No. 3 Michigan and No. 5 Nebraska in back-to-back games. Stirtz hasn't always lived up to the hype against ranked opponents, so he'll have potentially four more chances to prove himself.

Iowa has needed to rely on their supporting cast against the best of the best who have locked down Stirtz with relative ease. Against ranked opponents, Stirtz led the way with 14 points against No. 7 Michigan State and dropped 19 on No. 5 Purdue.

Now that he's had plenty of time to adjust from his Drake days, Stirtz needs to be a factor moving forward. Iowa needs to see more of the Stirtz that faced USC and Rutgers, not the Stirtz that struggled against MSU and Iowa State.

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