His journey began at Liberty High School in KC. Now he’s an NBA Draft pick
On Tuesday night, Bennett Stirtz completed one of the most improbable journeys from Division II point guard to NBA first-round pick.
Stirtz is headed to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who swapped picks with the Memphis Grizzlies to take Stirtz at 16th overall.
OKC held pick No. 17 before the trade.
He is the second Kansas City area native to be selected in the draft. Shawnee Mission Northwest and Illinois product Keaton Wagler went to the Los Angeles Clippers with the fifth overall pick.
They are the first KC-area duo to be first round picks since University of Kansas guards Ochai Agbaji (Oak Park HS) and Christian Braun (Blue Valley NW) in 2022.
He took the stage at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, in a custom cream-colored suit. Inside the blazer were patches for each part of his journey: Liberty High, Northwest Missouri State, Drake and Iowa.
With a crowd of family and friends after the midnight hour, Stirtz told The Star he’s excited to join the Thunder. Oklahoma City has a young roster led by back to back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who were champions just a year ago.
“Super excited to just start creating relationships with everyone,” Stirtz said. Teammates like Iowa alum Peyton Sandfort and Ajay Mitchell are among the hundreds of texts he’s received on Tuesday night.
“The culture that they’ve established here is second to none, so they have a lot of fun. I’m excited to join them.”
Stirtz was an all-state guard at Liberty and led his high school to the 2021 Missouri Class 6 state championship as a senior under his head coach father. He earned two Division II offers from NWMSU and William Jewell before shutting down his recruitment and picking the Bearcats.
After two record-setting seasons, he followed head coach Ben McCollum and transferred to Drake for the 2024-25 season. He broke more records with the Bulldogs, leading them to their first Round of 64 NCAA Tournament win since 1971 as the conference player of the year.
He then followed McCollum to Iowa, becoming an all-Big Ten guard and leading the Hawkeyes on a historic tournament run. They reached the program’s first Elite Eight since 1987. As a senior, Stirtz averaged 19.7 points, 4.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 47.7% from the field and 35.8% from 3. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection and AP All-America honorable mention.
On draft day, Stirtz got a morning workout and joined other draft prospects in attendance for lunch with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. By the afternoon, he was inundated with media obligations, like showing off his custom fit on the red carpet.
“Lots of red carpet stuff,” he said. “And then the draft started, and it went by quick, but it was super slow in the moment.”
Unlike famous moments where prospects are seen answering phones during drafts, Stirtz said he didn’t get any calls from team personnel about draft selections.
He was first selected by Memphis, and spent his time in media interviews eager to suit up for the Grizzlies. But the trade was finalized 30 minutes after the pick, and Stirtz became a member of the Thunder.
One of the few calls of the night was from Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, ready to get his hands on the skillful point guard. Stirtz and his family will be in Oklahoma City in Wednesday to be properly introduced to his newest city.
And it’s just under six hours away from his home in Liberty, an advantage the tight-knit family will heavily utilize.
Stirtz took an arduous journey to the NBA, a goal he didn’t even see as an option. But now it’s a reality, and this is just the next step. It starts with the NBA Summer League, where he’ll play in the Salt Lake City Summer League against the Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz next weekend.
“Oh, it feels like a new chapter for sure,” Stirtz said. “The real work starts now.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 9:05 PM.
