By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Former Northwest Missouri State player Bennett Stirtz and former coach Ben McCollum have earned honors in their first year at Drake University as the Missouri Valley Conference announced it’s league awards on Wednesday.
McCollum was named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year. McCollum joins 21 other coaches to a win an MVC men’s basketball title in his first year in the league. He’s the 14th rookie coach to win the league’s Coach of the Year award, which was first presented in 1949.
With 27 wins, he’s among the most successful first-year league coaches. Drake, 27-3 overall and 17-3 in the MVC, is tied for the national lead in victories and is second in winning percentage behind Auburn. Drake is the only team in the NCAA that has a perfect record against the top two quadrants.
Stirtz has been named the MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year. Stirtz is just the third player in league history to earn the Larry Bird Trophy in his first season in the MVC. Player of the Year was not the only honor given to the Liberty, Mo., native, however. Stirtz was also named Newcomer of the Year, selected First Team All-MVC, and named to the All-Newcomer Team.
Stirtz leads the MVC in scoring (18.93), assists (5.93) and steals (2.20). Stirtz, who leads the nation in minutes per game, is the only player in the NCAA to lead his league in scoring, assists, and steals.
Two other former Northwest players who followed McCollum to Drake earned honors as well. Mitch Mascari earned an MVC All-Third Teams Selection, while Daniel Abreau was named to the MVC All-Defensive Team.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.
