Caitlin Clark Marks One-Year Anniversary With Boyfriend Connor McCaffery In Sweet Photo

caitlin clark connor mccaffrey
Meet Basketball Star Caitlin Clark's BoyfriendCaitlin Clark / Instagram


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Caitlin Clark is feeling grateful for her biggest fan.

The basketball star, who joined the Indiana Fever during the WNBA draft, celebrated her first anniversary with boyfriend Connor McCaffery on April 24. In a sweet post, Caitlin gushed about her "fav person."

"one year of the best mems w my fav person 🖤" she captioned her cute IG, which featured a black-and-white snap of the two snuggling on a coach during draft night. "you make everyday better and I can’t wait for many more adventures together… love you 🤞🏻😇"

Connor commemorated the day with an equally adorable tribute, another black-and-white photo of the two. He posted it alongside a slow-motion video of one of Caitlin's *particularly* sassy on-court reactions.

"One year w the best 🫶🏼," he wrote. "doing life w u has been easy, and you never cease to amaze me.. can’t wait to watch u live out ur dreams in person 🤞🏼 love you ❤️"

Caitlin clearly appreciated the post, joking "Nice video" in the comments section. "😍🖤," she added.

Thanks to the draft, the two just reunited (Connor is based in Indiana, too). Caitlin's now gearing up for her first WNBA season, which kicks off on May 14.

And that isn't Caitlin's only win of 2024. This season, she smashed the NCAA’s all-time scoring record, becoming the leading scorer for men's and women's basketball. She also became the organization's Division I three-point record-holder and nabbed the title of Naismith National Player of the Year for the second year in a row. But Connor has been rooting for her the entire time.

Connor understands the grind more than anyone. He also played basketball for the University of Iowa, hitting the court for six seasons under his father, head coach Fran McCaffery, according to ESPN. And he's still involved with basketball post-grad.

So, who is Connor McCaffery and what’s he doing now? Here’s everything you need to know about Caitlin Clark's boyfriend:

Connor is the son of Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.

The basketball doesn't fall too far from the hoop! Connor is the son of Fran McCaffery, who is currently the men's basketball head coach at the University of Iowa. Before arriving at the University of Iowa, he served as head coach at Lehigh University, UNC Greensboro and Siena College.

“We got into coaching right out of college and grinded our way up in the coaching profession,” Fran told The Gazette of his longtime coaching partner, Tom Izzo. “Being around young people on a daily basis keeps you young. And I don't look at my job any differently today than I did in 1983. I know that sounds weird, but it's the truth."

Fran just wrapped up his 28th season as a head coach, BTW.

But Fran and Connor aren't the only athletic McCafferys. Connor's mom, Margaret, was also a star basketball player for the University of Notre Dame, according to The New York Times. Connor’s brother Patrick McCaffery was a star player for Iowa, too. (He just transferred to Butler University, according to The Athletic.)

He’s a Hawkeye basketball star, like Caitlin.

Connor graduated from the University of Iowa last year with majors in finance and political science, per Sporting News. While he was there, he played basketball and baseball. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 215 pounds, he is perfect for the sport!

Before he focused on basketball, Connor played corner in the outfield and first base in baseball, according to Sports Illustrated. He was also ranked the seventh-best draft prospect in the Big Ten and the 231st-best prospect nationally by D1Baseball.com. In fact, the Des Moines Register said he was on track to enter the Major League Baseball draft in 2020, but injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in those plans.

Connor also played under his father Fran on the basketball team. After arriving at Iowa in 2017 as a four-star basketball recruit, he made some history of his own, earning the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in NCAA history, per Hawkeye Sports. Over his 166 career games, he averaged 4.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. He also won the team’s Academic Excellence Award for five of his six seasons.

It didn’t end there. Connor was also a five-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, three-time NABC Honors Court, two-time Academic All-District First Team, two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and NABC Honors Court honoree, per his school bio.

They were friends first.

Caitlin was actually buddies with Connor’s younger brother Patrick first, and they ended up meeting that way. “We were always friends,” Connor told the Times-Union in March. “She was friends with Patrick. I was friends with her. Our teams hung out together. We had good relationships with the women’s team and we just eventually started hanging out.”

Connor added that “it was just kind of easy how it all worked out.”

Caitlin and Connor hard-launched their relationship in 2023.

Caitlin and Connor became Instagram official in August 2023 when Caitlin shared a series of snaps of the two of them cuddling on a boat.

"Best end to summer🖤" she wrote.

But cameras also caught the couple together at a Nuggets-Timberwolves game in late April.

He currently works for the Indiana Pacers, and hopes to become a coach.

Connor joined the staff of the Indiana Pacers last year as a team assistant, according to the Des Moines Register. He helps with scouting, assists with film study, and attends to other coaching needs.

“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,” Connor explained. “Whatever you’re asked to do, be ready to do it."

"It's a way in. It's an entry-level job," he added. "You've got to work hard and work your way up. That's obviously what I want to do."

His mom, Margaret, has spoken up about how "excruciating" it is to watch her husband coach, adding that she'd prefer her son choose a different path, per Sports Illustrated. But Connor says he's "really excited" about the role.

“I want to get away and try to learn from someone else, somewhere else," he told the Des Moines Register. "I've always been under my dad's shadow and tutelage. Now, learning from someone like coach [Rick] Carlisle... and the assistants they have there, they're all good basketball minds... I'm just going to try to take everything in.”

By the way, Connor has wanted to be a coach since practically forever. He told Sports Illustrated that he used to watch film with his dad when he was a kindergartener.

"I think he sees the game differently than most,” his dad said. “He grew up in the gym, in the locker room, at games, played it his whole life. He's pretty confident in what he's saying. Normally, we see the game pretty much the same way.”

Fran also approves of Connor learning about coaching from someone else. “There are a lot of different ways to do this job, different philosophies," he told SI. "It's important to learn as much as you can, as you progress in the profession. I'm excited for him to go on that journey and continue to learn."

Connor and Caitlin may be reunited this summer if she joins the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, which seems likely.

Connor is supportive of his girlfriend’s basketball career.

Connor has always heaped praises on his talented GF, including for her Elight Eight win over LSU in 2024.

"Out of words for this 1 @caitlinclark22 🫶💛,” Connor gushed on his IG Stories after the game, per The New York Post. He posted the sweet tribute alongside an ESPN graphic, which detailed Caitlin's seven rebounds, nine three-pointers and 12 assists from the game.

Connor cheered Caitlin on during March Madness and attended her final home game in Iowa, the Times Union says. Connor told the paper that he and Caitlin's mom discussed restaurant suggestions for their visit to Albany, where Caitlin played in her Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games.

"I think it’s going to be fun. I think she’ll kill it," he said at the time. "You know how the people in that region love basketball. They’ll appreciate kind of what she’s able to do and watching those teams. There’s going to be some good games in there.”

But Connor's there for the tough times, too. When Caitlin and the Hawkeyes lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2024 March Madness national championship, he sweetly called Caitlin his "GOAT."

a man in a sports uniform walking on a basketball court
@connor_m30

And, when WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes doubted that Caitlin would break the NCAA women's basketball scoring record in February, Connor clapped back.

"Just imagine doing an interview and being this misinformed," he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). "I don’t even understand what she’s trying to say."

When she did break the record, Connor said he was "so proud" on his Instagram Story.

"Love you 22,” he added, according to People.

In an Instagram post celebrating Caitlin’s 22nd birthday, Connor predicted that this will be her “best year yet.” He added in the caption, “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 🖤.” His brother, Patrick, jokingly wrote in the comments, “The glazing here is crazy.”

Connor also frequently posts updates on Caitlin’s performance, which are honestly pretty adorable.

Exhibit A:

A real lover boy!

His brother Patrick battled cancer.

Connor has two brothers, Patrick and Jonathan and a sister, Marit. Patrick also played for the Hawkeyes before transferring to Butler.

But it hasn't always been easy for the family: His younger brother Patrick, 22, had a malignant tumor removed from his thyroid in 2014, which was scary for the McCafferys. Patrick, a college student and basketball player, recently opened up about struggling with anxiety and took a leave of absence from the team, per Hawkfanatic.com. Connor encouraged his brother to be more open about his mental health.

“I don’t think it’s something to be looked poorly upon,” Connor said. “I think it’s brave. I feel like people will understand, and I think he’s actually helping a lot of people by doing that.”

Connor has always been supportive of his younger brother, and even got a tattoo in his honor, per Hawk Central.

Connor’s tattoo, on his arm, reads: “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.” He also has the number 22 tattooed next to the quote, which is Patrick’s number. The quote is from a speech by ESPN anchor Stuart Scott, who died after a battle with cancer, according to the website.

He has another connection to the number 22.

Of course, Caitlin was #22 for the Hawkeyes, and she accomplished so much that it’ll be retired. “We always knew your jersey would be hanging in the rafters,” the school’s athletic director Beth Goetz said, per CNN. It is a privilege for me to now make that official. You will be the last to wear No. 22.”

But Connor has another connection to the number. His brother Connor was also number 22 during his basketball career at Iowa.

“So proud of this dude… people don’t know what you’ve been through 22 🙏🏼 1k point scorer, Champion, Cancer Survivor ‼️, and so much more. Keep goin brother 🙏🏼❤️” Connor shared on Instagram.

Patrick chose the number as a tribute to his childhood friend, who died young.

He has several famous quotes tattooed on him.

Connor seems to be a fan of the quote tattoo as he has a few, per his Instagram. In addition to the Stuart Scott quote, he has a famous Martin Luther King Jr. quote tattooed on his leg.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” reads the ink.

He enjoys downtime with friends and family.

When he’s not busy cheering on Caitlin, he spends time with his family, and relaxing. He likes to work out, play video games, watch movies, and spend time with friends and family, per Sports Illustrated.

"I have great relationships with [my parents]," Connor said. "I'll go to them for different things. They're different. It's usually when something is bothering me. Sometimes you just need to vent."

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