{"id":130140,"date":"2025-03-22T21:21:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T01:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=130140"},"modified":"2025-03-22T21:21:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T01:21:01","slug":"drake-star-bennett-stirtz-will-be-top-transfer-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/22\/drake-star-bennett-stirtz-will-be-top-transfer-target\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake Star Bennett Stirtz Will be Top Transfer Target"},"content":{"rendered":"

He may not have been well-known during the season, but the whole country knows his name now. Drake star Bennett Stirtz<\/a> took the nation by storm in his first NCAA Tournament game in his first Division I season. Overall, I’d say it was a good inaugural season for the junior, who received no D-I offers out of high school. Stirtz took home the Larry Bird Trophy<\/a>, the name given to the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award. His success continued in the MVC and NCAA Tournaments. So after Stirtz’s huge season, what will he decide to do? Will he transfer to another school for NIL deals? Will he stay with the school and coach that gave him a D-I chance? One thing is certain: Bennett Stirtz will be one of the most sought-after transfer portal targets in the country during the offseason.<\/p>\n

Drake Star Bennett Stirtz Will be Top Transfer Target<\/h2>\n

Big Games, Big Performances<\/h3>\n

It’s not easy to dominate a conference like Stirtz has, but the MVC is not the same as some of the bigger power conferences. However, Drake was a huge Cinderella candidate<\/a> because of Stirtz. He didn’t disappoint. Against Missouri, a strong SEC team, Stirtz controlled the whole game. Whether he was hitting a one-legged three or throwing a lob pass, the Tigers couldn’t stop him. He finished with 21 points and four assists on 8-11 shooting. Whenever they needed a bucket, Stirtz was there to either score or set it up.<\/p>\n

Texas Tech was next on the schedule, a Big 12 powerhouse. Stirtz responded in a similar fashion. The Bulldogs fell short against the Red Raiders, but Stirtz finished with 21 points, eight assists, and three rebounds. Texas Tech was too electric on offense for Stirtz to keep up himself, but he was the main focus of their defense. Bennett Stirtz proved against elite programs that he has what it takes to play power conference basketball and is destined to be a top transfer portal target.<\/p>\n

The Need for Gutsy, Experienced Guards<\/h3>\n

Bennett Stirtz is in rare company in the modern basketball world. Drake plays a very slow style, but Stirtz plays virtually every minute of every game. He led the country with 39.4 minutes per game. It didn’t matter if he was tired—he was never tired. He also only averaged two turnovers per game. The modern game requires guards that are willing to not only lay everything on the floor, but also take care of the ball. There is a saying that guards win in March. Guards handle the ball; if you have good ones, you get good shots and don’t turn it over. Bad guards turn the ball over and give the other team easy buckets. Stirtz will dive to the floor in his 40th minute and protect the ball at all costs.<\/p>\n

That is precisely why Bennett Stirtz will be a top transfer target. Every coach in the country wants a player like Stirtz. He may not be the most athletic player on the floor, but he brings everything he has to the table. He may not be Cooper Flagg<\/a>, but if he had a similar injury<\/a>, Drake would be in similarly bad shape. Drake wouldn’t have traded him for anything. Stirtz is the ultimate team player and the perfect mold for an NCAA Tournament guard.<\/p>\n

The Last on Bennett Stirtz’s Transfer Prospects<\/h3>\n

Bennett Stirtz hasn’t put his name in the transfer portal or made any hints at doing so. However, he will likely receive a lot of texts and messages in the coming days before the transfer portal opens on Monday. Stirtz proved himself on the biggest stage. He has everything it takes. He has earned a payday if he chooses it. Maybe he will stay loyal to Drake. Either way, Bennett Stirtz will be a transfer target of big-name programs.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He may not have been well-known during the season, but the whole country knows his name now. Drake star Bennett Stirtz took the nation by storm in his first NCAA Tournament game in his first Division I season. Overall, I’d say it was a good inaugural season for the junior, who received no D-I offers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5370,"featured_media":130154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773],"tags":[50008,3933],"class_list":["post-130140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","tag-2025-ncaa-tournament","tag-drake-bulldogs"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130140"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130153,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130140\/revisions\/130153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}