Connor Wheeler

Connor Wheeler is in his second season as an assistant coach with the University of Iowa men’s basketball program. 

During his first season in Iowa City, Wheeler helped guide the Hawkeyes to the program's first Elite Eight appearance in 39 years and first Sweet 16 since 1999. No. 9 seed Iowa downed three higher seeded teams -- No. 8 Clemson, No. 1 Florida and No. 4 Nebraska.  The Hawkeyes led their South Region title game with seven minutes remaining with a Final Four spot on the line.

Iowa's 73-72 win over top-seeded Florida gave the Hawkeyes their second win all-time against the defending national champion. Iowa became the ninth No. 9 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed and the sixth nine seed all-time to advance to the Elite Eight.

The Hawkeyes finished the 2025-26 season with a 24-13 overall record with the 24 victories being tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history.  The team finished the season ranked 15th in the final Associated Press rankings.  

Iowa, which had 12 transfers among its 14-player roster, won three NCAA Tournament games in 2026; the program had four NCAA Tournament wins in the previous 24 seasons.

Senior guard Bennett Stirtz, who made the jump from Northwest Missouri State to Drake to Iowa City, was as good as advertised. Stirtz earned honorable mention All-America honors by The Associated Press and USBWA and first-team All-Big Ten honors by the media after averging 19.8 points, 4.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds.  He played 40 or more minutes 17 times during the season and finished with a program record 1,396 minutes.

Stirtz went from a second-team All-MIAA selection at the Division II level to an All-American in the Big Ten.  He was the only player in the nation to have 730+ points, 160+ assists, 95+ rebounds, 90+ 3-poiners and 50+ steals and he became one of three Power Conference players all-time to put up those numbers.

Stirtz became the first Hawkeye with 700+ points, 100+ assists and 50+ steals and the third Hawkeye to score 700+ points.  His 734 points were the fourth-most in a single season in Iowa history.

Wheeler joined the Hawkeyes with eight years of coaching experience at Drake (2024-25), Southeast Missouri State (2022-24), Southern Illinois (2019-22), Southern Miss (2018-19) and Missouri (2016-18).

During the 2024-25 season, Wheeler helped Drake enjoy unprecedented success as the team racked up a school-record 31 victories and won both the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles. 

The Bulldogs advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after upsetting sixth-seeded Missouri, 67-57, in the Round of 64. 

Wheeler assisted in Drake’s complete roster rebuild, as the Bulldogs brought in a combined 10 transfers and first-year players.  Stirtz was named the MVC Larry Bird Player and Newcomer of the Year, while being a finalist for the Riley Wallace Award and Lou Henson Awards.

Prior to making the move to Des Moines, Wheeler spent two seasons as an assistant at Southeast Missouri State, where he helped guide the program to its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth.  It was the first NCAA appearance in more than 20 years.

Wheeler ventured to SEMO after a three-year stint at Southern Illinois.  He joined the staff as the director of player development before moving into the role of director of basketball operations. During the 2018-19 season, Wheeler was video coordinator at Southern Miss and he also coordinated video as a graduate assistant at Missouri from 2016-18.

As a player, Wheeler was a member of the Final Four team in 2011-12 at Illinois Wesleyan, he was an all-conference and all-region selection at John A. Logan College, he won a Division II National Championship in 2014 at Central Missouri, and he finished his career at Division I Southern Illinois Edwardsville in 2015-16.

The Carbondale, Illinois, native earned his associate’s degree from John A. Logan College in 2015, his bachelor’s degree from SIU Edwardsville in human and family development in 2016 and his master’s in educational, school and counseling psychology with an emphasis on positive coaching in 2018.

He is married to his wife, Sammie.

Career
2016-18	Graduate Assistant/Video Coordinator, Missouri
2018-19	Video Coordinator, Southern Illinois
2019-20	Director, Player Development, Southern Miss
2020-22	Director, Basketball Operations, Southern Illinois
2022-24	Assistant Coach, Southeast Missouri State
2024-25	Assistant Coach, Drake
2025-pres.	Assistant Coach, University of Iowa