For the first time since 1985, three former Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball players were chosen in the first two rounds of the NBA Draft.

Now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder after being drafted in the NBA Draft as the No. 16 overall pick, Bennett Stirtz transferred to Drake after his sophomore season, following former Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Men's Basketball Player of the Year and the conference Newcomer of the Year at the end of the regular season in his one season as a Bulldog. He was a first-team All Big Ten selection while playing at Iowa under McCollum. In his lone season at Drake, Stirtz averaged an incredible 39.4 minutes per game while starting all 35 of Drake's contests. He averaged 19.2 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game, and 5.7 assists per game.

Now a member of the Miami Heat, former Indiana State star Ryan Conwell was selected with the No. 37 overall pick in the second round of the NBA Draft on June 24. In his lone season at Louisville, Conwell averaged 18.8 points (seventh-highest among Atlantic Coast Conference players) on 40.8 percent shooting, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 steals – while starting 34 games.  Conwell finished his lone season at Indiana State as arguably the most consistent performer, finishing with 16.6 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, 2.5 assists per game, 41 steals, and 10 blocks. His 629 points in the season puts him at 11th in program history in single-season scoring. Conwell earned the MVC's Newcomer of the Year Award, alongside earning All-MVC Second Team, MVC Tournament All-Tournament Team, and NIT All-Tournament honors.

The San Antonio Spurs selected point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie with the No. 42 overall pick in the second round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday night. Gillespie started all 37 games in his single season at Tennessee last year, averaging 18.4 points, 5.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 34.8 minutes per game. The native of Greeneville, Tenn., began his college career with two seasons at Belmont. In two years as a Bruin, Gillespie averaged 12.9 points (including 17.9 as a sophomore) and averaged 3.7 assists with 104 total steals in 57 games. He earned second-team all-MVC honors as a sophomore after earning a spot on the league's all-Freshman unit in 2022-23.