The world operates in many mysterious ways. Only a handful of people knew Iowa Hawkeyes star Connor McCaffery before mid-2023. But once his girlfriend, the serial record-breaker Caitlin Clark, announced their relationship on social media, he shot into the limelight. Soon, his playmaking magic for the Hawkeyes and work as a team assistant for the Indiana Pacers were appreciated.

In 2023, he left Iowa as the program’s all-time leader in assist-to-turnover ratio. On the back of this fame and his hard-earned capabilities, Butler University signed him as an assistant coach in 2024. While many wait years before landing coaching gigs, McCaffery’s sublime IQ on the court reigned supreme. After all, basketball is in his blood.

Meet Connor McCaffery’s baller parents – Fran & Margaret

If you closely follow NCAA basketball, you must have heard of Connor’s father, Fran McCaffery. He is a legend in the college circuit and has been Iowa’s head coach since the 2010 season. His impact on the Hawkeyes was almost instantaneous as they broke a 25-game losing streak against ranked opponents 3 months into his job. Attendance in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena increased, and the trend continued in the coming years. The Fran McCaffery effect was present a decade before the Caitlin Clark effect.

His coaching career benefitted Connor greatly, who attended all games as a child and bloomed into a successful Hawkeye. Under Fran’s leadership, Iowa re-stepped into the big leagues, appearing in postseason tournaments in 11 of the last 12 seasons (7 NCAA, 4 NIT). In 2022, they also won the decorated Big Ten Tournament Title. In the same year, Fran also notched his 500th win as a head coach, to celebrate which the team poured an entire bucket of water on him in the locker room. Cut to 2024, the 62-year-old became the winningest coach in Iowa history, taking his 272nd win as a Hawkeye.

While his achievements landed him in the public eye, he seemed like a reserved man to the world outside. But for his close ones, he was nothing short of a stand-up comedian. “With Franny, he’s very guarded about who he lets in, who he lets see his personality. People out there just see the red-faced guy. But he’s actually the funniest guy in the world,” Fran’s best friend, John Guminski, told the Athletic in 2022.

Coincidentally, Connor is following very closely in his father’s footsteps, who landed his first assistant coaching gig at age 24 at Lehigh University. 2 years into guiding the Mountain Hawks, Fran was promoted and became the nation’s youngest head coach. This was followed by an 11-year stint as Notre Dame’s assistant coach, where he met the mother of his four children – Margaret McCaffery.

Margaret was a basketball maestro in her own right. She took a liking for the sport as a child and as she grew, so did her passion for it. Her collegiate career was spent playing for Notre Dame, where she received a law degree. She started 100 out of 119 games, averaging 11 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 53% from the field. As per Her Hoop Stats, the 6’1 Center played professional basketball for France for a year before tendonitis in her knee forced her premature retirement.

As soon as she planned to further dive into law studies, her old Notre Dame coach, Muffet McGraw, came running. He offered her to become an assistant coach for the Fighting Irish. It was then that she met Fran and their mutual love for basketball transformed into mutual love for each other, and they got married in 1997. Connor McCaffery was their firstborn, and his three siblings, Patrick, Jonathan, and Marit, rounded up the rest of the family roster.

Connor’s Siblings – Basketball prevails in the next-gen McCafferys

While Connor was the first McCaffery offspring to touch a basketball, his 2-year-younger brother Patrick was the best. The 6-foot-9 Power Forward’s passion for the game was ignited when he observed his father’s coaching lessons at UNC Greensboro. However, a terrible yet brief happening struck him when he was 13. Patrick was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, but fortunately, he recovered in 3 months. Upon full recovery, he joined the varsity basketball team of Iowa City West High School.

In his junior year, he made the first-team All-State, and in his senior year, he bettered his averages to 25.1 points and 7.6 rebounds (from 19.9 points and 6 rebounds) to set a new school scoring record. His collegiate career was similarly impressive as he followed in Connor’s footsteps. Under his father’s coaching, Patrick became the co-winner of the program’s Kenny Arnold Hawkeye Spirit Award in 2022. The second-oldest McCaffery also became Iowa’s 54th player to cross the 1000-point mark, making him a team recipient of the Chris Street Award for the 2023-24 season. Coincidentally, Patrick was scouted by the Butler Bulldogs this year, the same team where Connor serves as an assistant coach.

The youngest McCaffery son, Jack, also kept the basketball tradition alive. As Patrick did, he also plays for the Iowa City West High School. “Basketball means everything to me. It’s the one thing in my life that I’ve always had that really brings joy to my day,” Jack told the Press-Citizen in November 2023. Moreover, he too committed to joining Butler University after high school. This move came in the aftermath of Patrick transferring there in his final year of eligibility.

Finally, we come to Connor’s only sister, Marit McCaffery. She was born as the third child to Fran and Margaret. She stands as the odd man out in the family, having chosen to not pursue a career in basketball. But she never missed celebrating her family’s success on the court. In school, Marit played softball for the Iowa City West Jaguars, and then the IC Hawks. If her Instagram activity is any indication of her interests, traveling the world is number one on her bucket list. From Sydney to Paris and beyond, Marit is living her life queen-size.

Connor’s family seems like they’ve popped out directly from a Hollywood movie. Even his to-be family, Caitlin Clark, is an overachiever by all means. Is this what the American dream looks like?