Patrick D. McCaffery (born March 20, 2000) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player for the Butler Bulldogs of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. He previously played for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

Early life and high school career

McCaffery was born in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

where his father,

Fran McCaffery Francis John McCaffery (born May 23, 1959) is an American college basketball coach who is the current men's basketball head coach at the University of Pennsylvania. He previously served as head coach of Lehigh University, UNC Greensboro, Siena, ...

was the head basketball coach at UNC Greensboro and spent his early childhood there until moving to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

after Fran became the head coach at

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. He moved with his family to

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

at age ten when his father was named the head coach at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. McCaffery was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when he was 13 years old. He was diagnosed cancer free after three months of treatment, including two surgeries. McCaffery attended

Iowa City West High School Iowa City West High School is a public high school in Iowa City, Iowa. It serves grades 9–12 for the Iowa City Community School District. Athletics The Trojans compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference in the following sports: *Cross ...

and made the varsity basketball team as a freshman. He was named first-team All-State after winning the 2017 4A State Championship and averaged 19.9 points and six rebounds per game in his junior season. McCaffery repeated as a first-team All-State selection after averaging 25.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He also set Iowa City West's scoring record during his senior season. McCaffery was rated a consensus top-100 recruit and committed to playing college basketball for his father at

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

College career

McCaffery played in two games as a freshman before missing the rest of the season after encountering complications from his cancer treatment. He ultimately was granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA and allowed to use a redshirt on the season. He played in all 31 of the Hawkeyes games as a redshirt freshman and averaged 5.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. McCaffery became a starter and averaged 10.5 points and 3.6 rebounds as a redshirt sophomore. McCaffery started the first 14 games of his redshirt junior season before taking a leave of absence from the team, citing the need to address his mental health. He returned to the team after a six-game leave of absence. McCaffery served as a key reserve coming off the bench after his return. He finished the season averaging 9.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 27 games played. McCaffery played in 31 games with 15 starts during his redshirt senior season and averaged 8.9 points and 2.8 rebounds. After the season, McCaffery decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and entered the NCAA transfer portal. McCaffery ultimately transferred to play at

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

. On November 8, 2024, McCaffery scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 68-66 loss against

Austin Peay Austin Peay (; June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...

. McCaffery had 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds in a 73–58 victory over Eastern Illinois on December 3, 2024. On January 4, 2025, McCaffery scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds for his second career double-double and first in his Butler career in a 70–62 loss at St. John's. McCaffery had 21 points and collected seven rebounds in an 80–76 loss against Creighton on January 11, 2025. In the regular season finale, McCaffery scored 19 points and had three steals in an 87–74 loss at Creighton on March 8, 2025. McCaffery had 16 points in a 78–57 loss against St. John's in the 2025 Big East Tournament on March 13, 2025.

Career statistics

College

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Personal life

McCaffery's father, Fran McCaffery, played college basketball at Wake Forest and Penn before entering coaching. His mother, Margaret, played basketball at Notre Dame and was an All-American. His brother Connor also played basketball for Iowa. While undergoing treatment for cancer McCaffery became close friends with NBA star

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded by some as one of the greatest p ...

References

External links

Iowa Hawkeyes bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaffery, Patrick 2000 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Iowa City, Iowa Butler Bulldogs men's basketball players Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball players Power forwards 21st-century American sportsmen