2024–25 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

2024–25 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
2024–25 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Charleston Classic Champions
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	11–0 (1–0 MVC)
Head coach	Ben McCollum (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Josh Sash; Bryston Williams; Connor Wheeler;
Home arena	Knapp Center
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

The 2024–25 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Drake University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by first-year head coach Ben McCollum, play their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). It is the first season since 2018-19 that the Bulldogs will play without Darian DeVries as head coach.

2024–25 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Indiana State	2	–	0	1.000	8	–	4	.667
Drake	1	–	0	1.000	11	–	0	1.000
Bradley	1	–	0	1.000	10	–	2	.833
Belmont	1	–	0	1.000	9	–	3	.750
Northern Iowa	1	–	0	1.000	7	–	5	.583
Murray State	1	–	1	.500	6	–	4	.600
Illinois State	0	–	1	.000	7	–	4	.636
UIC	0	–	1	.000	7	–	4	.636
Missouri State	0	–	1	.000	6	–	5	.545
Valparaiso	0	–	1	.000	6	–	5	.545
Southern Illinois	0	–	1	.000	5	–	7	.417
Evansville	0	–	1	.000	3	–	9	.250

† 2025 MVC tournament winner As of December 21, 2024

Previous Season

The Bulldogs finished the 2023–24 season 28–7, 16–4 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville, Bradley, and Indiana State to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the West region, where they narrowly lost to Washington State in the first round.

On March 24, 2024, it was announced that head coach Darian DeVries was leaving the school to take the head coaching job at West Virginia.^[1] Subsequently, most of the roster entered the transfer portal.^[2] On April 1, the school named Division II Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum as the team's new head coach.^[3]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Kyron Gibson	0	G	6'1"	198	Sr	Alexandria, LA	Graduated
Kevin Overton	1	G	6'5"	180	Fr	Oklahoma City, OK	Transferred to Texas Tech
Brashon Hall	2	G	6'1"	185	RS So	Roswell, GA	Transferred to Fairleigh Dickinson
Colby Garland	3	G	6'1"	183	Fr	Magnolia, AR	Transferred to Longwood
Conor Enright	4	G	6'0"	180	RS So	Mundelein, IL	Transferred to DePaul
Patrick Bath	9	F	6'9"	210	Fr	Plymouth, MN	Transferred to North Dakota State
Atin Wright	10	G	6'1"	185	Jr	Hawthorne, CA	Transferred to North Texas
Bennett Fried	11	F	6'7"	170	Fr	La Crosse, WI	Transferred to Augustana (SD)
Tucker DeVries	12	G/F	6'7"	210	Jr	Waukee, IA	Transferred to West Virginia
Carlos Rosario	13	F	6'7"	180	RS So	Santo Domingo, D.R.	Transferred to Oral Roberts
Chico Johnson	20	G	6'3"	180	Fr	Toledo, OH	Transferred to USC Upstate
Elijah Price	22	F	6'9"	195	Fr	Long Beach, CA	Transferred to Fresno State
Ethan Roberts	23	G	6'5"	195	So	Arlington Heights, IL	Transferred to Penn
Eric Northweather	35	F/C	6'10"	225	Jr	Jefferson City, MO	Left Program
Darnell Brodie	51	C	6'10"	275	GS	Newark, NJ	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Cam Manyawu	3	F	6'8"	230	So	Kansas City, MO	Transferred from Wyoming
Isaiah Jackson	4	G	6'3"	180	GS	Independence, MO	Transferred from NW Missouri State
Eli Shetlar	10	G	6'6"	190	So	Wichita, KS	Transferred from Indiana State
Kael Combs	11	G	6'4"	190	So	Nixa, MO	Transferred from Wyoming
Bennett Stirtz	14	G	6'4"	180	Jr	Liberty, MO	Transferred from NW Missouri State
Mitch Mascari	22	G	6'5"	200	GS	Geneva, IL	Transferred from NW Missouri State
Daniel Abreu	54	F	6'6"	220	GS	Springfield, MO	Transferred from NW Missouri State

2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Isaia Howard SG	Plattsburg, MO	Plattsburg	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 2, 2024
Isaia Howard SG	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports:
Joey Matteoni PF	Overland Park, KS	Blue Valley Northwest	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Apr 9, 2024
Joey Matteoni PF	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Tavion Banks SG	Kansas City, MO	NW Florida State College	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 3, 2024
Tavion Banks SG	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 156 ESPN: —
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.

Preseason

The Bulldogs, as the defending Arch Madness champions, were picked to finish fifth in the conference's preseason poll.^[4] Forward Cam Manyawu and guard Bennett Stirtz were selected to the Preseason All-MVC third team.^[5]

Roster

2024–25 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	3	Cam Manyawu	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	So	Wyoming Staley	Kansas City, MO
G	4	Isaiah Jackson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	GS	NW Missouri State William Chrisman	Independence, MO
G/F	6	Tavion Banks	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	NW Florida State	Kansas City, MO
G	10	Eli Shetlar	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Indiana State Andover	Wichita, KS
G	11	Kael Combs	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Wyoming Nixa	Nixa, MO
G	14	Bennett Stirtz	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	NW Missouri State Liberty	Liberty, MO
G	21	Andrew Alia (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS So	St. Joseph	Kenosha, WI
G	22	Mitch Mascari	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	GS	NW Missouri State Geneva	Geneva, IL
G	23	Isaia Howard	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Plattsburg	Plattsburg, MO
F	24	Nate Ferguson	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Sr	Lemont	Lemont, IL
F	44	Joey Matteoni	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Blue Valley Northwest	Overland Park, KS
F	54	Daniel Abreu	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	GS	NW Missouri State Willard	Springfield, MO

Head coach

Ben McCollum (Northwest Missouri State)

Assistant coach(es)

Josh Sash (William Penn)
Bryston Williams (Northwest Missouri State)
Connor Wheeler (SIU Edwardsville)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 14, 2024

Schedule and Results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
November 4, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN	York (NE)	W 93–41	1–0	30 – Abreu	12 – Manyawu	7 – Stirtz	Knapp Center (2,514) Des Moines, IA
November 10, 2024* 1:00 pm, ESPN	Stephen F. Austin	W 66–51	2–0	26 – Mascari	5 – Manyawu	5 – Jackson	Knapp Center (2,627) Des Moines, IA
November 16, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN	Florida Gulf Coast	W 63–61	3–0	25 – Stirtz	7 – Stirtz	4 – Stirtz	Knapp Center (2,862) Des Moines, IA
November 21, 2024* 11:00 am, ESPN2	vs. Miami (FL) Shriners Children's Charleston Classic Quarterfinal	W 80–69	4–0	21 – Stirtz	10 – Abreu	6 – Stirtz	TD Arena Charleston, SC
November 22, 2024* 10:30 am, ESPN2	vs. Florida Atlantic Shriners Children's Charleston Classic Semifinal	W 75–63	5–0	22 – Mascari	10 – Jackson	6 – Stirtz	TD Arena Charleston, SC
November 24, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN	vs. Vanderbilt Shriners Children's Charleston Classic Final	W 81–70	6–0	18 – Manyawu	11 – Manyawu	11 – Stirtz	TD Arena (2,119) Charleston, SC
November 30, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN	Georgia Southern	W 61–47	7–0	15 – Abreu	7 – Abreu	6 – Stirtz	Knapp Center (3,061) Des Moines, IA
December 5, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN	at Valparaiso	W 66–60	8–0 (1–0)	29 – Stirtz	10 – Manyawu	4 – Stirtz	Athletics-Recreation Center (1,488) Valparaiso, IN
December 12, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN	St. Ambrose	W 90–35	9–0	15 – Banks	7 – Manyawu	7 – Stirtz	Knapp Center (4,919) Des Moines, IA
December 17, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN	vs. Kansas State Wildcat Classic	W 73–70 ^OT	10–0	25 – Mascari	8 – Jackson	8 – Jackson	T-Mobile Center (9,210) Kansas City, MO
December 21, 2024* 5:00 pm, MC22/ESPN	Green Bay	W 72–62	11–0	21 – Jackson	12 – Jackson	6 – Stirtz	Knapp Center (3,418) Des Moines, IA
December 29, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN	Belmont						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 1, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN	at UIC						Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL
January 5, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN2	Murray State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 8, 2025 6:00 pm, CBSSN	at Bradley						Carver Arena Peoria, IL
January 11, 2025 5:00 pm, MC22/ESPN	Evansville						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 15, 2025 8:00 pm, ESPN	Illinois State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 18, 2025 TBA, ESPN	at Indiana State						Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
January 22, 2025 6:30 pm, MC22/ESPN	Valparaiso						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 25, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN	at Missouri State						Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO
January 29, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN	Northern Iowa						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 1, 2025 TBA, ESPN	at Southern Illinois						Banterra Center Carbondale, IL
February 4, 2025 7:00 pm, TBD	at Murray State						CFSB Center Murray, KY
February 8, 2025 TBA, ESPN	Indiana State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 12, 2025 8:00 pm, ESPN	at Illinois State						CEFCU Arena Normal, IL
February 16, 2025 TBA, ESPN	Bradley						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 19, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN	UIC						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 23, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN2/ESPN	at Northern Iowa						McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA
February 26, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN	at Evansville						Ford Center Evansville, IN
March 2, 2025 TBA, ESPN	Missouri State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
Conference Tournament
March 6, 2025 TBA	vs. Arch Madness Opening Round						Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
March 7, 2025 TBA, TBD	vs. Arch Madness						Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
March 8, 2025 TBA, TBD	vs. Arch Madness						Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
March 9, 2025 TBA, TBD	vs. Arch Madness						Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[6]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV

References

^ Hertel, Alyssa. "Drake AD Brian Hardin details Darian DeVries' departure, looks ahead to coaching search". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
^ "DeVries departs Drake, takes over at W. Virginia". March 24, 2024.
^ "Drake names McCollum as men's hoops coach". ESPN.com. April 1, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
^ Wheeler, Wyatt D. "2024 MVC preseason poll is out. See where Missouri State basketball was ranked, all-MVC picks". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
^ "Bradley Picked as MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite". October 2, 2024.
^ "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics.

[1] Hertel, Alyssa. "Drake AD Brian Hardin details Darian DeVries' departure, looks ahead to coaching search". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 17, 2024.

[2] "DeVries departs Drake, takes over at W. Virginia". March 24, 2024.

[3] "Drake names McCollum as men's hoops coach". ESPN.com. April 1, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.

[4] Wheeler, Wyatt D. "2024 MVC preseason poll is out. See where Missouri State basketball was ranked, all-MVC picks". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved December 17, 2024.

[5] "Bradley Picked as MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite". October 2, 2024.

[6] "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics.

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