Iowa basketball duo recognized within On3's top 100 player rankings

With the season just around the bend, Iowa basketball finds itself with two stars inside On3's preseason top 100 player rankings.

Iowa underwent a major makeover during the offseason. The Hawkeyes hired former Drake head coach Ben McCollum, who brought over five players from the Bulldogs and seven transfer additions overall.

While the Hawkeyes are not necessarily regarded as conference-title favorites in the talent-laden Big Ten just yet, the excitement from Iowa fans has slowly begun to spread to national outlets and can certainly flourish if the on-court performance matches or exceeds the hype.

Here's the two Hawkeyes that were recognized by On3:

No. 84: Alvaro Folgueiras

Transferring to the Hawkeyes after two seasons at Robert Morris, the 6-foot-10, 230-pound junior forward from Spain was the Horizon League Player of the Year last season. Alvaro Folgueiras joins Iowa after a breakout 2024-25 campaign that netted averages of 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 54.8% from the field, 41.3% from 3-point territory, and 78.4% from the free-throw line.

Folgueiras is expected to become a focal point of the McCollum offense at the four and five spots. Folgueiras' passing ability will play well into what McCollum wants to do offensively, and the towering forward's 3-point range will also keep teams' traditional bigs out of sync, opening up his full offensive arsenal.

No. 3: Bennett Stirtz

Bennett Stirtz finished year one of Division I basketball with a 31-4 record alongside Ben McCollum at Drake en route to Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors following the jump from Division II-level Northwest Missouri State. Stirtz is one of the nation's rising stars, given his ability to excel at every program he's played at.

Once a Division II player, Bennett Stirtz continues his rise going from Drake to Iowa with head coach Ben McCollum. He has shown over and over that his game translates to any level of the sport, knocking off higher ranked opponents multiple times on his way to drawing NBA interest. - James Fletcher III, On3

At Drake last season, Stirtz closed the year averaging 19.2 points, 6.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 49.8% shooting from the field, 39.5% from 3-point territory, and 79.4% from the free-throw line in 35 games played.

As the primary offensive weapon for the Hawkeyes this season, the only question mark surrounding the 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior guard will be how he adapts to the Big Ten. If he can overcome those hurdles, Iowa could very well be a significant threat to the conference's elite.

While On3's rankings are undoubtedly up for debate, considering the plethora of algorithms and statistical information used to compile the list, it is still remarkable to see two Hawkeyes even crack the top 100 after the way last season ended.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball duo recognized within On3's top 100 player rankings