Caitlin Clark’s boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, was not the least bit surprised when she was awarded the Associated Press’ Rookie of the Year on September 22.
McCaffery took to his Instagram stories, where he shared a post from her WNBA team, the Indiana Fever, which highlighted that Clark had been unanimously chosen for the honor. His message accompanying the post was short but expressive: “Duh.”
This message came just a week after Clark had congratulated McCaffery on his new coaching position. On September 16, Butler University in Indiana announced that McCaffery had been hired as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team.
Clark was quick to acknowledge the news with a celebratory message on her Instagram stories, which McCaffery reshared. “Yayy!! So happy for you,” she wrote, sharing a Butler post about McCaffery’s new role, adding several heart emojis.
Before his position at Butler, McCaffery had worked as a basketball development coordinator for the Indiana Pacers during the last NBA season.
In July, Clark also wrote a touching birthday message for McCaffery. She posted four black-and-white photos showing moments of them laughing, embracing on the basketball court, taking a mirror selfie, and posing for another selfie.
“Happy Birthday Con! Celebrating you is easy, thankful to have someone as selfless and as loving as you in my life,” Clark wrote, adding a black heart emoji.
She playfully continued, “May this be the year you finally find a way to outshoot me, Love you always,” ending with a teary-eyed and white heart emoji.
McCaffery’s response to her tribute was just as affectionate, commenting, “And I’ll keep letting you win those shooting contests!”
Here’s a closer look at Connor McCaffery, the man who has been by Clark’s side as she makes basketball history.
Connor McCaffery is the son of Fran McCaffery, who has been the head coach of the University of Iowa’s men’s basketball team since 2010. In fact, the elder McCaffery even coached his son during his time playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Connor McCaffery was seen conversing with his father during a game against Seton Hall at the Prudential Center on November 16, 2022, further highlighting their connection on the court.
In addition to basketball, Connor McCaffery also played baseball for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Balancing these two sports at such a high level wasn’t an easy task.
University of Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller praised McCaffery’s potential as a hitter, “It’s just really hard for a guy to play Power Five basketball in the Big Ten, where it’s physical and you get beat up, then have to show up 20 games into the baseball season and be ready to go.”
After graduating from the University of Iowa in 2023, McCaffery accepted a position with the Indiana Pacers.
“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,” McCaffery explained to the Des Moines Register about his role.
“It’s kind of all-hands on deck, whatever you’re asked to do, be ready to do it.”
He viewed the position as a great starting point: “It’s a way in. 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.”
In September 2024, McCaffery joined Butler University as an assistant coach. His younger brother, Patrick, had transferred to Butler from Iowa earlier in the year.
Though neither Clark nor McCaffery has spoken publicly about when they started dating, they became Instagram official in August 2023. Clark posted a series of photos of the two cuddling on a boat with the caption, “Best end to summer.”
McCaffery, however, waited until January 22—Clark’s birthday—to share his first post about her on his Instagram. He wrote: “Happy Birthday 22,” referring to both her age and her jersey number.
“Wish I was there to celebrate with you — you deserve the best day, Golden Bday / T Swift year will be the best yet. 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.”
At 6 feet tall, Clark stands taller than many women who don’t play basketball. But her boyfriend, 26-year-old McCaffery, towers over her by 6 inches.
After Iowa’s victory over UConn on April 5, which secured their spot in the NCAA women’s championship, Clark and her team faced a tough loss against South Carolina on April 7, falling 87-75.
Even though it was a difficult defeat, McCaffery stood by Clark, posting a picture of her on his Instagram story with the caption, “My GOAT @caitlinclark22.”
McCaffery was also present at the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 15, when Clark was the first overall pick, selected by the Indiana Fever.
He reshared her Instagram story, which included two sweet photos of them sitting together, with Clark captioning it: “my fav person in the world.”
It wasn’t just Clark’s draft pick that McCaffery celebrated, though. A fan on X (formerly Twitter) asked to see McCaffery’s reaction to Clark’s draft day outfit—a stylish white Prada double satin skirt and shirt. McCaffery humorously replied with three emojis: the shocked face, hand over mouth, and drooling face.
Clark saw the post and responded with a single face-holding-back-tears emoji.
On April 24, McCaffery marked the couple’s one-year anniversary with a heartfelt Instagram post. “One year w the best. doing life w u has been easy, and you never cease to amaze me,” he wrote. “can’t wait to watch u live out ur dreams in person, love you.”
Clark also commemorated their anniversary with her own post. “one year of the best mems w my fav person. You make everyday better and I can’t wait for many more adventures together… love you,” she wrote.
