Ben McCollum spent 15 years as the head coach at Division II Northwest Missouri State and is suddenly on a meteoric rise through college basketball. The four-time D2 national champion secured an NCAA Tournament win in his first season as a D1 head coach at Drake, leading the Bulldogs past sixth-seeded Missouri this past March before heading to Iowa to replace Fran McCaffery.
Now, the man who brought Bennett Stirtz from Division 2 and turned him into one of the best point guards in the country, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, and an All-American honorable mention, isn’t just bringing Stirtz to Iowa City, but nearly his entire Drake roster. Five players are following McCollum from Drake to Iowa, including Stirtz, but with a full roster overhaul in order, that still left the Hawkeyes with plenty of holes.
One of the most notable was a backcourt sharpshooter to pair with Stirtz because Mitch Mescari, who filled that role for McCollum last season, is out of eligibility. To fill it, McCollum simply landed one of the country’s most prolific three-point shooters, Kansas State transfer Brendan Hausen, who will give the Hawkeyes a massive boost in Year 1 of the McCollum era.
Kansas State transfer Brendan Hausen has committed to Iowa, per his agent Drew Kelso.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 14, 2025
Averaged 10.9 PPG and made 90 three-point shots last season.
Should be dynamite in Ben McCollum's system.
Brendan Hausen commits to Ben McCollum’s Iowa Hawkeyes
Hausen struggled to see the floor in his first two seasons at Villanova, but last year with the Kansas State Wildcats, Hausen started all 33 games, including an overtime loss to Drake, averaged 10.9 points, and shot 38.8 percent from deep on 7.0 attempts per game. About 84 percent of his shot attempts came from beyond the arc and still, he managed to be one of the most efficient deep-range scorers.
Hausen finished the year with a 91st-percentile 62 percent effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot opportunities and averaged 1.21 points per possession on spot-ups (90th percentile). He has a wide base and a quick release which enables him to stay on balance when shooting off movement and get his shot off without much space. He’ll thrive in McCollum’s motion-heavy offensive system and will put constant stress on the defense late into the shot clock.
Last season, Drake was the slowest-paced team in the country, averaging under 60 possessions per 40 minutes. To play that style and constantly work deep into the shot clock, McCollum needs players like Hausen who will continue to cut and work for space on off-ball actions 25 seconds into a possession, and the threat his deep range will create even more space for Stirtz to work with the ball in his hands.
Michigan has had the best transfer portal cycle of any team in the Big Ten, but with the talent shipment following McCollum to Iowa City and a big-time addition like Hausen, the Hawkeyes are easily a close second. In the 2025-26 season, Iowa should re-establish itself as conference title contenders.