Patrick McCaffery’s Next Move: Son of Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery Finds New Home at Butler

Son of Hawkeyes men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery, former Iowa forward Patrick McCaffery revealed on Instagram on Saturday that he had committed to play his last collegiate season at Butler.

The 6-foot-9 McCaffery spent five seasons at Iowa, starting 61 games out of 123 total. During his career, he scored 1,044 points. His discovery of thyroid carcinoma in 2014 partially contributed to his health problems throughout his tenure at Iowa. He had a medical redshirt during his rookie year of 2019–20 due to side effects from cancer therapy. Due to worry, McCaffery took a leave of absence in early 2023 that lasted about a month. McCaffery’s ankle ailment from the previous season limited his playing time.

McCaffery had been a resident of Iowa City since he was ten years old, having been the coach’s son. During his last press conference prior to Senior Day, he seemed prepared to move to a new setting, but he did not say if he would play professionally or use the transfer portal.

Fans were curious if Fran McCaffery, after 14 seasons, was still up to the task when he joined the portal three days after the Hawkeyes’ season ended in an NIT loss. Beth Goetz, the director of athletics at Iowa, told The Athletic that was untrue.

“In terms of the transfer portal, I’m not going to answer for Patrick, but I think that’s just reading too much,” Goetz said. “The kid has spent his whole career here. He’s been here five years.”

Butler (18-15), like Iowa (19-15), was an NIT squad the previous season.

What does this mean for Iowa?

Despite scoring 8.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game the previous season, McCaffery had his moments. Unlike many players his height, he can run the floor and has made 105 3-pointers in his career from outside the area. However, McCaffery spent much of the final two months of the season off the bench due to an ankle ailment that kept him out of action.

Ladji Dembele, a sophomore forward, or Chris Tadjo, an upcoming four-star freshman forward, will probably get his minutes the next season.

(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)