Meet Caitlin Clark’s No. 1 fan.
The University of Iowa athlete — who made history on Feb. 15 as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball — is dating Connor McCaffery, a fellow basketball player and former Hawkeye himself.
The couple’s relationship was made public in August 2023 when Clark posted a photo with Connor on her Instagram. “Best end to summer,” she captioned a carousel which featured images of the pair cuddled up to each other on a boat.
In January, Connor posted a tribute to Clark on her 22nd birthday. “Happy Birthday 22. Wish I was there to celebrate with you – you deserve the best day. Golden Bday/T Swift year will be the best yet,” he wrote. “With all that you’ve already accomplished, there is so much more in store for you and your special self. I admire you in every way and I love you.”
Connor’s prediction that there would be “so much more in store” for Clark was right. One month later, the basketball star solidified her name in the history book when she surpassed Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 points during Iowa’s victorious game over Michigan in February.
The former basketball player showed his support for Clark’s record-breaking accomplishment, along with some of the biggest names in sports like Tom Brady, Billie Jean King and Brittney Griner.
He works for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers
Connor landed a job in professional sports after graduating from the University of Iowa in May 2023. He works as a team assistant for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.
During his time at Iowa, Connor was a duel athlete. When he wasn’t training or competing with his team, he worked toward his two bachelor’s degrees in finance and political science.
Connor accepted the offer with the Pacers shortly after graduating in May. His approach to the job is “all-hands on deck,” he told Des Moines Register.
“I’ll play dummy defense, run the scout team, help coaches on film stuff, help on video projects if they need, scouting reports if they need,” he explained. “Whatever you’re asked to do, be ready to do it.”
He’s a former D1 basketball player
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Connor played basketball for the University of Iowa. He was a four-star recruit, arriving at Iowa in the 2017 recruiting class.
The former Iowa guard was not only accomplished on the court but succeeded simultaneously in his studies, earning the team’s Academic Excellence Award for five seasons.
Connor was also named a five-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, three-time NABC Honors Court, two-time Academic All-District First Team, two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and NABC Honors Court honoree, according to Hawkeye Sports.
He’s the son of Fran McCaffery
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Connor is the son of Fran McCaffery, head basketball coach at the University of Iowa, who has coached at the school for 14 years.
“We don’t know anything else,” Fran told The Gazette of himself and his longtime coaching partner Tom Izzo in February 2024. “We got into coaching right out of college and grinded our way up in the coaching profession.”
“Being around young people on a daily basis keeps you young. And I don’t look at my job any differently today than I did in 1983. I know that sounds weird, but it’s the truth.”
Fran has been coaching since 1983 and is currently in his 28th season as a head coach. Prior to Iowa, he served as head coach of Lehigh University, UNC Greensboro and Siena — and played college basketball himself, too.
The acclaimed coach played one season at Wake Forest before transferring to Penn.
He has an interest in pursuing a career in coaching, too
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Like his father, Connor has his sights set on a coaching career. When speaking with Des Moines Register, he shared his plan to learn from the ground up with his job NBA with the Indiana Pacers.
“It’s a way in,” Connor told the outlet. “It’s an entry-level job. You’ve got to work hard and work your way up. That’s obviously what I want to do.”
Meanwhile, his mom, Margaret McCaffery, prefers he take a different path — perhaps one aligned with his two degrees to avoid the stresses that could come with a job as a coach.
“Selfishly, that’s why I didn’t want him to go into coaching,” she told Sports Illustrated in March 2023. “It’s excruciating to watch my husband. I don’t anticipate it will be way better watching my son.”
“There are great things about (coaching) and tough things about it,” Margaret continued. “I look forward to him discovering all of that. And we’ll be there to support him no matter what he does.”
He’s also a baseball player
Prior to placing his focus on college basketball, Connor was a standout baseball player. He played both corner outfield spots and first base.
The duel athlete started in 22 baseball games as a redshirt freshman in 2018-2019, reported Sports Illustrated. D1Baseball.com rated him the seventh-best draft prospect in the Big Ten and the 231st-best prospect nationally.
Connor had the potential to go far in the game, with Des Moines Register claiming he was “on a good track” to enter the Major League Baseball draft in 2020.
However, Connor’s injuries and health complications hindered his timeline in the sport. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the baseball season that year.
He celebrated Caitlin Clark’s history-making accomplishment
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Connor showed his support for Clark after she became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball during the game that saw Iowa’s 106-89 victory over Michigan on Feb. 15, 2024.
“So proud,” he wrote on his Instagram Story, featuring a video of Clark’s long 3-pointer in the first quarter that solidified her name in the history book. “Love you 22.”
Clark’s record-breaking accomplishment, totaling 3,569 points (and counting), surpassed Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 points.
