Former Iowa players are spread across the 2026 NBA Summer League, giving the Hawkeyes a strong presence as teams head into action in California, Utah and Nevada over the next couple of weeks.
The biggest name in the group is Bennett Stirtz, who will suit up for the Oklahoma City Thunder after being taken No. 16 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft. Oklahoma City also used draft picks on Aday Mara from Michigan at No. 12 and Kentucky’s Otega Oweh at No. 41, setting up an offseason battle over which guards the franchise keeps in the mix. The Thunder already exercised the team option on veteran guard Luguentz Dort, keeping him in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder will play in the Salt Lake City Summer League from July 4-7 before moving on to the Las Vegas Summer League from July 9-19.
Payton Sandfort is also set to play for Oklahoma City, even after the former Hawkeye was waived by the Thunder on Thursday. Sandfort had signed a two-year, two-way contract with the team earlier this season and still gets his Summer League run with the club. In 20 games with OKC Blue in the G-League this past season, he averaged 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 34.2 percent from three, starting 18 of those games.
Brendan Hausen will try to make his mark with the Memphis Grizzlies after going undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft. He signed a summer league deal with Memphis, and his shooting gives him a clear reason to be watched closely as he looks to stick around in the NBA and G-League. The Grizzlies will be in Salt Lake City and then Las Vegas.
Josh Dix, who spent three seasons in Iowa City before one year at Creighton, will join Stirtz and Sandfort with Oklahoma City. Dix is on a two-way deal with the Thunder after averaging 13.2 points and shooting 33.8 percent from three this past season in Omaha.
Mitch Mascari will play for the Sacramento Kings after starring for Ben McCollum at Northwest Missouri State and then at Drake during McCollum’s lone season in Des Moines. Mascari averaged 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 41 percent from three for the Stockton Kings in the G-League this season across 36 games.
Sacramento will compete in California before heading to Las Vegas.
In Other News...
Iowas Week 1 Suddenly Looks Tougher After Northern Illinois QB Upgrade
Northern Illinois has given its quarterback room a real jolt heading into the fall, and Iowas season opener now carries a little more intrigue than it did a few weeks ago. Taron Dickens arrives with a strong track record from Western Carolina, where he was productive enough to stand out in the transfer market, and his path took an odd turn after a brief commitment to North Carolina before he went back into the portal.
For the Hawkeyes, the timing matters. Iowa opens Sept. 5 at Kinnick Stadium, and a quarterback with Dickens pedigree is the kind of addition that can change how a defense has to prepare in Week 1. It does not turn the matchup upside down, but it does make Northern Illinois a more credible test than the original schedule might have suggested. [Read more 🡒]
Nile Kinnick Just Earned Another All-Time Iowa Football Honor
Nile Kinnick keeps finding his way back into the center of Iowa football history, and the latest reminder comes from ESPN, which put him atop its list of the greatest players ever to wear No. 24. For Hawkeye fans, that is hardly a surprise. Kinnicks 1939 Heisman season and the national recognition that followed have long made him the standard for greatness in Iowa lore, and his place among the programs all-time icons remains as secure as ever.
What makes the conversation interesting now is how rare Iowa has been about honoring players with retired numbers. The Hawkeyes have only done it twice, with Kinnicks No. 24 and Cal Jones No. 62, which naturally opens the door to the usual debate about who else might someday join them. From recent stars to older legends, the list of possible candidates is a reminder that Iowas history is deep enough to keep producing new arguments, even when Kinnick is still the name that sets the bar. [Read more 🡒]