Among the thousands of men’s basketball players who hit the transfer portal to find a new home this offseason, few stand out quite as much as Patrick McCaffery.
McCaffery transferred from Iowa to Butler, which on its face looks like a fairly unsurprising move for the sixth year senior who averaged 8.5 points in 123 games with the Hawkeyes.
However, McCaffery is the son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, leaving his dad’s program after five years. The story gets even more unique with the announcement on Monday that Jack McCaffery, a top 100 recruit in the 2025 class and Patrick’s younger brother, will follow him to Butler rather than playing at Iowa for Fran.
The brothers won’t play together, unless Jack reclassifies to 2024 or Patrick gets a seventh year of eligibility, but nonetheless seeing both pick the same program – and not the one in the Big Ten with dad – is unique.
However, at least according to 247Sports, Jack McCaffery did not receive an offer from Iowa – getting offers from Butler, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest, among others.
The four-star power forward is ranked 113th in the 2025 class at 247 and 90th in the composite rankings, and mentioned coach Thad Matta’s offense and how it runs through the post as a big reason for choosing the Bulldogs, as well as the familial connection.
“My brother goes there too and he likes it a lot so it helped my decision,” McCaffery told 247. “I also built a great relationship with both Coach Joseph and Coach Matta throughout the process.”