4-star recruit Jack McCaffery, son of Iowa HC Fran McCaffery, commits to Butler University

Iowa City West High School's four-star recruit, Jack McCaffery, announced his commitment to the Butler Bulldogs on Monday. The son of Iowa Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery chose Butler over Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Virginia and others.

Jack will join his older brother, Patrick McCaffery, who transferred to the Bulldogs in April. His other older brother, Connor, who is dating Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, is also in Indianapolis working with the Indiana Pacers as an assistant coach.

Explaining his decision, 6-foot-8 wing Jack McCaffery told On3:

“The reason I ultimately chose Butler was definitely because of the coaching staff. I think coach (Maurice) Joseph and coach (Thad) Matta were both very active in recruiting me. I felt very wanted there and I appreciated that.

I think that was a big factor for me and also the environment of Hinkle. I went on two unofficials and toured the campus and I liked the smaller vibe of it. I like that it’s a basketball school. I think playing in the Big East will be really cool.”

Jack McCaffery is a No. 101 overall ranked prospect in the 2025 recruiting class and is listed as the No. 1 player in Iowa.

Jack McCaffery reveals that the coach's trust, despite his circumstances, led to the choice

In September 2023, Jack McCaffery was found guilty of causing a pedestrian's death with his reckless driving in May. The then-16-year-old failed to yield to a pedestrian and crashed into them. The victim, national guardsman Corey Hite, died in the hospital because of his injuries.

The evidence provided showed that McCaffery was completely sober and was not on his phone. In his sentencing, he was ordered to pay $1,000 in fine and lost his driver's license for 180 days. The incident caused many schools to drop him, except for Butler.

"I didn’t have the best spring, and they had the opportunity to drop me like some other schools and they didn’t," he said (via The Gazette). "This summer when I started to play a lot better, some new schools started to reach out, but I felt like staying loyal to them was the right thing to do. I think they’ve been very honest throughout this whole process."

While he did have the option of playing for his father, just like his older brothers, Jack McCaffery chose not to because of the pressure that was attached to his last name.

“It was really hard for my brothers, and it was really hard for my mom (Margaret),” Jack said. “The fans, they were especially tough on Connor, because a lot of people don’t understand how he affects a basketball game. So that was part of it.

"He’s a coach on the floor, the all-time wins leader. I don’t know. I saw that, and I didn’t like that. I just wanted to try something different.”

What do you think of Jack McCaffery's decision to join the Bulldogs? Let us know in the comments section below.