DES MOINES, Iowa – It's a new era for Drake men's basketball as head coach Ben McCollum is set to begin his first season at the helm for the Bulldogs. Coach McCollum was announced as the new head coach for Drake University on April 1, 2024, after spending the last 15 seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II power Northwest Missouri State University, where he won four national championships. With his move to Des Moines, McCollum has brought on new faces to fill his staff and Drake's roster.
Drake Men's Basketball Coaching Staff
Josh Sash – Assistant Coach
Sash joins the Drake program after serving as the head coach in a one-year tenure at his alma mater of Indian Hills Community College located in Ottumwa, Iowa. A native of Oskaloosa, Iowa, Sash led the Warriors to their second consecutive trip to the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball Championship after going 29-6 during the 2023-24 campaign and helped Indians Hills punch its ticket to the national tournament for the 19th time in program history.
In his lone season as head coach at Indian Hills, Sash was tabbed as the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) DI Coach of the Year. Under his direction, Sash boasted a 4-0 record in ICCAC play while capturing the NJCAA Region 11 Championship and totaled the most wins against nationally ranked opponents with 15 victories.
Sash also served as the assistant coach for the Warriors under former head coach Hank Plona from 2015-17. During that time period, Sash led the Warriors to 58 wins and back-to-back Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) regular season, National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI Tournament, and NJCAA District XI Championships.
Prior to being named head coach at Indian Hills, Sash spent three seasons as an assistant coach at North Dakota State University. There Sash was part of a Bison staff that claimed three consecutive Summit League Tournament Championship game appearances. The Bison won 54 games over the previous three seasons, including 35 Summit League victories.
Coach Sash also had stints as the assistant coach at the University of Missouri-Kansas City from 2017-19 before taking over as head coach Des Moines Area Community College for the 2019-20 season. Sash led the Bears to a 29-4 record, the ICCAC regular and postseason championships, and the No. 2 seed in the national tournament. For his efforts, Sash was named the NJCAA Region 11 Coach of the Year and guided five NJCAA All-Region 11 performers and four NJCAA All-Academic selections.
Sash earned a Master of Science in Education in Effective Teaching from Drake University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education/Coaching from William Penn University. Sash also earned an Associates of Applied Science in Computer Programing/Analysis from Indian Hills in 2001.
Bryston Williams – Assistant Coach
Williams comes to Des Moines after a one-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Wyoming. Last season, Williams was a part of a Cowboys staff that led Wyoming to an overall record of 15-17 and went 8-10 in Mountain West play.
Before his time out west, Williams served as an assistant coach at Indiana State for two seasons and spent time in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons as well. Williams helped lead the Sycamores to 23 wins in 2022-23 and a trip the College Basketball invitational, as the top seed for the team's first postseason trip since 2014.
Prior to his time with Indiana State, Williams spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons. His duties with the Pistons included developing the team's mechanical shooting program, pre and post practice workouts, film breakdown and post-game reports.
In 2017-18, Williams spent time with the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G-League. He was an essential part of the game plan prep for the Hustle and worked in player development.
Williams even has previous ties to Iowa as he spent time with the Iowa Energy of the G-League in 2016-17 as well.
Williams is a familiar face to Coach McCollum both under his tutelage as a player and coach. He spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State and helped lead the Bearcats to a pair of MIAA Championships. As a player, Williams played in 112 games with 71 starts.
Connor Wheeler - Assistant Coach
Wheeler comes to Des Moines after two years as an assistant on staff at Southeast Missouri State. While in Cape Girardeau, he helped guide SEMO to its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth in over 20 years while instructing multiple All-OVC performers.
Coach Wheeler ventured to SEMO after a three-year stint at Southern Illinois in his hometown of Carbondale. He eventually served as the Salukis' Director of Operations after intitially joining their staff as the Director of Player Development. Prior to SIU, Wheeler was the video coordinator at Southern Miss (2018-19) and coordinated video as a graduate assistant at Missouri (2016-18). He had his playing experience in the OVC at SIU Edwardsville after a standout prep career.
Jesse Shaw – Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Coach Shaw joins Drake after being at the helm of Maryville University from 2020-2024. During his time with the Saints, Shaw registered the second highest overall winning percentage in program history and led the team to two of five total wins over ranked opponents in school history.
Before landing his head coaching position at Maryville, Shaw served in an assistant coaching role at University of Missouri-St. Louis for four years, was an assistant before being promoted to head coach at Pratt Community College from 2011-2016 and served as a graduate assistant at Emporia State from 2006 through 2008.
In his time at UMSL, he helped the Tritons to 72 victories, capped by a record-setting 27-6 record, the first GLVC regular-season title and an appearance in the GLVC Tournament finals.
Shaw was instrumental in transforming Pratt Community College from the last-place team to a regional champion in his three years leading the program, coaching 15 All-Jayhawk Conference selections and eight professional basketball players. Shaw amassed a five-year record of 92-69 in his five seasons at PCC and was named NJCAA Region VI Coach of the Year and the KBCA Junior College Men's Coach of the Year.
The Lincoln, Nebraska native earned his Bachelor's of Science in Physical Education in December 2005 from Northwest Missouri State where he was also a member of the basketball team. During his playing days, Shaw was on the first two teams to reach the NCAA DII Elite Eight in program history.
Xavier Kurth – Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development
Kurth follows Coach McCollum from Northwest Missouri State where he also served as an assistant.
Kurth competed for the Bearcat men's basketball team from the 2014-15 season through the 2017-18 campaign. Kurth helped the program capture its first NCAA Div. II national championship in 2017.
He served as a part-time assistant from the 2018-19 season through the 2021-22 season in which Northwest captured three more NCAA Div. II men's basketball national championships.
A native of St. Joseph, Mo., Kurth earned his undergraduate degree in education from Northwest. He also earned his master's degree in applied health sciences at Northwest.
Drake Men's Basketball Roster
No. 3, Cam Manyawu
A transfer from Wyoming, Manyawu appeared in 31 games with nine starts as a freshman for the Cowboys last season averaging 7.3 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 20 points on December 5 versus South Dakota Mines and totaled seven double-doubles in his freshman campaign. A native of Kansas City, Mo., he played at Staley High School leading his team to a state title last season with an impressive 30-2 record. He was ranked as the ninth best prospect in the state of Missouri and the 53
rd best power forward prospect in the nation.
No. 4, Isaiah Jackson
Hailing from Independence, Mo., Jackson played four seasons under Coach McCollum at Northwest Missouri State before coming to Drake. Jackson averaged 23.2 points per game over his career at Northwest to go along with 2.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds and was a part of two national championship winning teams. In his senior season he was an honorable mention All-MIAA and named to the MIAA All-Defensive Team. He ranks No. 10 all-time on the Bearcat assist chart with 289 career assists.
No. 6, Tavion Banks
Banks transfers in from Northwest Florida State College where he spent the past two seasons. In his career with the Raiders, he averaged 10.0 points and 11.1 rebounds in 25 minutes per contest. Banks started all 32 games he played in last season for NW Florida State leading it to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
No. 10, Eli Shetlar
Shetlar appeared in 11 games as a freshman for Indiana State, scoring 27 total points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The Wichita, Kan. product highlighted his season scoring 13 points against Southern Indiana on 5-for-9 shooting with three triples. He averaged 17.3 points, eight rebounds, and three assists per game at Andover High School. Shetlar holds the school record for 3-pointers in a single game (nine) and 3-pointers in a season (65) at Andover.
No. 11, Kael Combs
Another transfer from Wyoming, Combs played in 26 games making one start for the Cowboys in his freshman season where he averaged 2.7 points per game. He scored a career-high 12 points on February 24 against Boise State. In his hometown of Nixa, Mo., Combs was a standout basketball and football player at Nixa High School stuffing the stat sheet his senior season averaging 23.4 points per game along with 6.9 rebounds per game and 6.1 assists.
No. 14, Bennett Stirtz
Stirtz comes to Drake as a Northwest Missouri State transfer after playing under Coach McCollum for two seasons. He immediately burst on to the scene to begin his collegiate career being named the MIAA Freshman of the Year and a Second-Team All-MIAA selection in the 2022-23 season. As a freshman he averaged 12.6 points per game and had the most steals by any NCAA Div. II freshman (65). As a sophomore he was again tabbed as Second-Team All-MIAA and scored a career-high 29 points vs. Southwest Minnesota State on November 11. The Liberty, Mo. native was also a three-time MIAA Athlete of the Week selection (Dec. 4, Jan. 29, Feb. 19).
No. 21, Andrew Alia
One of two returners from Drake's team a season ago, Alia Played in 16 games with 39 total minutes. He averaged 0.9 points and 0.3 rebounds and scored a career high five points at Belmont (1/7). Alia's hometown is Kenosha, Wis., where he attended St. Joseph High School and scored over 1,000 career points.
No. 22, Mitch Mascari
A Geneva, Ill. native, Mascari has played under Coach McCollum for the past five season at Northwest Missouri State. He was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll each year while at Northwest and led the team in three pointers last season with 82. Mascari made at least one 3-pointer in 30 of 34 games he played in and scored a career-high 27 points as he buried 9-of-12 three-pointers in a 75-72 win at Washburn (Feb. 10).
No. 23, Isaia Howard
A freshman from Plattsburg, Mo., Howard was a First-Team All-State and First-Team All-Conference selection his sophomore through senior years at Plattsburg High School. In his senior season he averaged 34.4 points, 13.2 rebounds 4.3 assists and 5.6 steals per game on 55/36/65 shooting splits for the Tigers helping his team to a 25-6 record and reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament. In his career, Howard totaled over 3,000 points scored.
No. 24, Nate Ferguson
The second returning member of the Bulldogs squad from a year ago, Ferguson has appeared in 108 games donning a Drake uniform while averaging 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds. Last season, the Lemont, Ill. native played in 35 games with two starts and shot .738 from the field. He logged season highs in points with 10 at Bradley (2/10) and rebounds with six vs. Evansville (3/8) and distributed a career high four assists at UIC (2/28).
No. 44, Joey Matteoni
Originally committed and signed to Northwest Missouri State, Matteoni opted to follow McCollum to Des Moines. Hailing from Overland Park, Kan., the freshman helped Blue Valley Northwest High School to a state championship in 2023 and earned First-Team All-State honors. He averaged 19.1 points, 8.91 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game in his senior season and was another First-Team All-State selection.
No. 54, Daniel Abreu
Abreu spent the last four seasons at Northwest Missouri State with McCollum as his coach. The Springfield, Mo. native has averaged 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in his collegiate career and had his best season last year for the Bearcats highlighted by being named the MIAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player as he averaged 17.3 ppg in leading the Bearcats to the title.
