Ever since Caitlin Clark left, a gloom seems to have fallen over the University of Iowa. Now, it might just be our imaginations and there are certainly statements to disprove it because the women’s basketball team has a number of stars waiting to continue her legacy. But what of the men’s side, where CC’s boyfriend Connor McCaffery used to play?

In the recently released AP Top 25 preseason men’s basketball poll, Kansas tops the charts, followed by Alabama, UConn, Houston, and Iowa State in the top 5. But even if you move further down the line, the Iowa Hawkeyes are nowhere to be found. After McCaffery graduated in 2023, there was his brother Patrick at first. The McCafferys were a constant presence in the Hawkeyes with their dad as the men’s basketball head coach.

But while Fran McCaffery has stayed, both his sons have moved on to Butler. His younger son will play with the Bulldogs this season, while Connor was announced as an assistant coach at Butler University back in September. But a double whammy is that the Bulldogs didn’t receive even a single vote from the AP panel. Are they awaiting the arrival of the star basketball brothers?

In the preseason Big 10’s men’s basketball media poll, Iowa was picked 11, and some Big 10 members did make it to the AP poll. But even on the women’s side, the Hawkeyes have not been ranked in the preseason poll, despite 37 votes. Runners up in the last two seasons with Caitlin Clark, Iowa will have to work without its most famous player and veteran coach Lisa Bluder, who retired after 24 years.

Meanwhile, CC’s boyfriend will also be nursing some wounds with neither of his colleges ranking. But since his move from the NBA to the NCAA, McCaffery and Co. will be looking to make some changes in the 2024-25 season and up their game. On the women’s side as well, the Hawkeyes will look different. Is Iowa ready for the post-Caitlin Clark era?

Iowa has a new look after Caitlin Clark’s departure

Jan Jensen as head coach is already a major change after CC graduated. Additionally, Kate Martin also left for the W, while Gabbie Marshall retired from the sport entirely to focus on grad school. To replace Caitlin Clark, Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen will pose as the point guard, and Hannah Stuelke and Sydney Affolter will return. It’s a new core for a new team, but Jensen is not fazed.

While she admitted that Clark’s “ability to empower those around her,” per Iowa insider David Eickholt, was one of her greatest strengths, the new coach has also said, “Some of us have been here all those years ago and last year, and the ones that have signed up that weren’t here last year, the one thing we all have in common is we are so excited that we got next.”

Much like CC’s Indiana Fever, this version of the Iowa Hawkeyes is a developing, young team. Where Clark will look to make an impact in the W with new teammates in a new city, her alma mater is also getting ready to spread its wings without her. On the men’s side, Clark’s boyfriend Connor McCaffery is also going to do his best to move the Bulldogs forward, even if he can’t do much for Iowa now.