Jaran Richman

Jaran Richman is in his second season as the director of scouting for the University of Iowa men’s basketball team. 

During his first season in Iowa City, Richman 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.

Richman joined the Hawkeyes following a one-year stint at Drake, where he served as the assistant to the head coach. The Bulldogs won 31 games, claimed the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to making the move to Des Moines, Richman spent five years at Northwest Missouri State, playing and coaching under Ben McCollum.  He spent two seasons as a student-athlete, two years as a graduate assistant and was a full-time assistant in 2023-24.

In his first season as a graduate assistant during the 2021-22 season, Northwest capped off a streak of three consecutive national championships, the first team in NCAA Division II men's basketball to accomplish the feat.

Richman guided the Bearcats to their 10th consecutive conference championship in 2022-23, finishing the season 31-3.  The following season, Northwest won its 11th straight MIAA regular season crown as the team posted a 29-5 record.

Before joining the coaching ranks, Richman played at Northwest Missouri State where he was a member of the 2021 national championship team. He was named the NCAA Elite 90 Award winner at the 2021 NCAA Tournament. In the 2019-20 COVID-cancelled season, Northwest finished the season 31-1 and was ranked No. 1 in the country.

Prior to joining the Bearcats, Richman played for North Central Missouri College in Trenton, Missouri, where he was a team captain on the first national tournament team in school history.

The Hamilton, Missouri, native earned his associate’s degree in teaching from North Central Missouri College in 2019, his bachelor’s in physical education from Northwest Missouri State in 2021 and his master’s in applied health science from the school in 2023.