Connor McCaffery had roots with the Iowa Hawkeyes long before he started dating Caitlin Clark. His father, Fran McCaffery, is the men’s basketball team head coach, and Connor joined the program in 2017. Originally when he went to Iowa, Connor was a two-sport athlete playing both baseball and basketball. “I was kind of living in chaos,” he recalled in an interview with Inside the Hawkeyes in March 2023. Health issues prevented him from fully competing in his first year at Iowa and Connor was red-shirted as a freshman. His baseball career hit major roadblocks but his basketball career continued.
Eventually, Connor carved out a name for himself as a point guard for the Hawkeyes where playing for his dad brought extra scrutiny. “I used to wonder why I had to prove myself more than others. I think that bothered me,” he told Inside the Hawkeyes. As Connor’s playing career was coming to a close, he started eyeing a career in coaching — away from his dad. “I’m excited for him to go on that journey and continue to learn,” Fran said about Connor branching out.
In May 2023, Connor landed an “entry-level” job with the Indiana Pacers coaching staff working for their G-League team. “I want to get away and try to learn from someone else, somewhere else. I’ve always been under my dad’s shadow and tutelage,” he told Hawk Central at the time. Even though he left Iowa, Connor continued to follow Clark’s career closely.
