Drake standout Bennett Stirtz following coach to Iowa

Drake's leading scorer, Bennett Stirtz, is transferring to Iowa.

With the move, Stirtz follows head coach Ben McCollum, who accepted the top job with the Hawkeyes on Monday.

Stirtz was named Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference and was an honorable mention All-American after averaging a league-leading 19.2 points, a team-leading 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.

A 6-foot-4 guard, Stirtz played just one season at Drake after transferring from Northwest Missouri State, where he played two seasons under McCollum.

Stirtz scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting in Drake's first-round, 67-57 upset of Missouri last Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. He also scored 21 in the Bulldogs' second-round loss to Texas Tech on Saturday.

He joined Larry Bird as only players in conference history to reach 600 points (673), 180 assists (200) and 70 steals (72) in a season.

McCollum needs to bolster his Iowa roster.

Following the dismissal of longtime coach Fran McCaffery earlier this month, several players said they planned to leave the Hawkeyes. The transfer portal opened Monday and already consists of six Iowa players intending to leave, according to the listing by 247Sports.

--Field Level Media