2024–25 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

2024–25 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
2024–25 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	5–0 (0–0 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
Drake	0	–	0	–	4	–	0	1.000
Belmont	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Bradley	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Illinois State	0	–	0	–	3	–	1	.750
Missouri State	0	–	0	–	3	–	1	.750
Murray State	0	–	0	–	3	–	1	.750
Northern Iowa	0	–	0	–	3	–	2	.600
UIC	0	–	0	–	3	–	2	.600
Indiana State	0	–	0	–	2	–	2	.500
Southern Illinois	0	–	0	–	2	–	2	.500
Valparaiso	0	–	0	–	2	–	2	.500
Evansville	0	–	0	–	1	–	4	.200

† 2025 MVC tournament winner As of November 21, 2024

Previous Season

The Bulldogs finished the regular season 25–6, 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, where they were narrowly defeated by Washington State in the first round. Following their loss, it was announced that Bulldogs head coach Darian DeVries would be accepting the same position at West Virginia. Subsequently, most of the roster entered the transfer portal.^[1]

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	Graduated/Retired
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

Recruiting Class

2024 Recruiting Class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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	Recruiting 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	Recruiting 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	Recruiting 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 were picked to finish fifth in the conference's preseason poll as the defending Arch Madness champions. Forward Cam Manyawu and guard Bennett Stirtz were selected to the Preseason All-MVC third team.^[2]

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) Charleston Classic Quarterfinals	W 80–69	4–0	21 – Stirtz	10 – Abreu	6 – Stirtz	TD Arena Charleston, SC
Novemeber 22, 2024* 10:30 am, ESPN2	vs. Florida Atlantic Charleston Classic Semifinals	W 75–63	5–0	22 – Mascari	10 – Jackson	6 – Stirtz	TD Arena Charleston, SC
Novemeber 24, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN	vs. Vanderbilt Charleston Classic Finals						TD Arena Charleston, SC
November 30, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN+	Georgia Southern						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
December 5, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Valparaiso						Athletics-Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN
December 12, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN+	St. Ambrose						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
December 17, 2024* 7:00 pm	vs. Kansas State Wildcat Classic						T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO
December 21, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN+	Green Bay						Knapp Center 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 TBD, ESPN+	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, ESPN+	Evansville						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 15, 2025 8:00 pm, ESPN+	Illinois State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
January 18, 2025 TBD, ESPN+	at Indiana State						Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
January 22, 2025 6:30 pm, 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 TBD, ESPN+	at Southern Illinois						Banterra Center Carbondale, IL
February 4, 2025 7:00 pm	at Murray State						CFSB Center Murray, KY
February 8, 2025 TBD, 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 TBD, 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	at Northern Iowa						McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA
February 26, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Evansville						Ford Center Evansville, IN
March 2, 2025 TBD, ESPN+	Missouri State						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** — = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final
AP	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—

References

^ "DeVries departs Drake, takes over at W. Virginia". March 24, 2024.
^ "Bradley Picked as MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite". October 2, 2024.
^ "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics.

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

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

[3] "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics.

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