(BCSNN) — University of Iowa senior Bennett Stirtz has been named to the 2025–26 Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Monday.

Stirtz, a Liberty, Missouri native, is in his first season with the Hawkeyes after earning All-American honors at Drake last year. He was also named the Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in 2024–25.

This marks Stirtz’s second preseason Player of the Year recognition, having been named to the NABC watch list on Friday. He’s also earned preseason All-American nods from CBS Sports, Field of 68, Jon Rothstein, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, and Jay Bilas. Additionally, he’s on the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch List.

Last season, Stirtz led the MVC in scoring (19.2), steals (2.21), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.86), while ranking second in assists (5.7). He also led the NCAA in minutes played, averaging 39:22 per game.

Stirtz is one of 13 Big Ten players on the Naismith list, joining standout names from Oregon, Wisconsin, UCLA, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Northwestern, and Ohio State.

Iowa opens its season Tuesday night against Robert Morris at 7:30 p.m. CT on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will be televised on BTN.

This article originally appeared in its entirety as a feature on BCSNN.