Stirtz, Tran Named March Student-Athletes of the Month

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa student-athletes Bennett Stirtz and Aurélie Tran were named March’s Student-Athletes of the Month, the Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee announced on Monday.

Stirtz, a senior guard from Liberty, Missouri, led the Hawkeyes men’s basketball team to a historic postseason run, guiding Iowa to its first Elite Eight appearance since 1987 with NCAA Tournament victories over No. 8 seed Clemson, No. 1 seed and defending national champion Florida and No. 4 seed Nebraska. During March, Stirtz averaged 17.4 points, 4.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals across eight games, scoring in double figures in every contest. He added two 20-point performances in NCAA Tournament games against Nebraska and Illinois. Stirtz was named to the NCAA Tournament South Region All-Region Team and earned honorable mention All-America honors from The Associated Press and USBWA. He was also recognized as a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and a second-team pick by the coaches. He became the first Hawkeye in program history to record 700+ points, 100+ assists and 50+ steals in a single season. Stirtz, who has volunteered with the UI Center for Advancement's Thank a Thon, will graduate with a degree in interdepartmental studies.

Tran, a sophomore from Repentigny, Québec, Canada, delivered an outstanding month for Iowa, highlighted by a career-best 39.600 all-around score on March 6, tying for the 10th-best mark in program history. She also matched the school’s all-time uneven bars record with a 9.975 in the same meet. Tran captured a share of the Big Ten uneven bars title with a 9.950, becoming Iowa’s first champion on the event since 2003, and matched her championship-best all-around score of 39.525 to place sixth at the Big Ten Championships. A first-team All-Big Ten honoree for the second consecutive season, Tran was named to the 2026 All-Championship Team after recording the top scores in Session Two on bars (9.950), beam (9.900) and all-around (39.525). She helped lead the Hawkeyes to a Session Two team victory for the second straight season at the conference championships. Tran, who has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Johnson County Neighborhood Centers, and the United Way, is majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology.