Iowa transfer Patrick McCaffery announces commitment to Butler

Former Iowa forward Patrick McCaffery, who entered the transfer portal last month, is headed to the Big East.

McCaffery has committed to Butler, he announced Saturday afternoon on Instagram.

The son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, Patrick McCaffery averaged 8.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game last season.

Patrick McCaffery had played for his father’s Hawkeyes program over the course of his collegiate career, but he announced he was stepping away from the program for a mental health break during last season’s campaign. He returned to the team shortly after, helping them finish the season in the NIT.

Patrick McCaffery played high school basketball at West Senior (IA), where he was a four-star prospect as a member of the Class of 2019, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. The On3 Industry Ranking is the industry’s most advanced, complete and unbiased measurement.

More Iowa departures this offseason

In addition to Patrick McCaffery, Iowa has had other departures this offseason.

That includes wing Payton Sandfort, who announced that he would be entering his name into the 2024 NBA Draft.

“It has been a dream come true to represent this program and my state the past three seasons as a Hawkeye,” said Sandfort. “Every day I pushed myself to make our team as successful as possible. I have loved every second of being a Hawkeye. It has been my lifelong dream to get the opportunity to play in the NBA. I plan to enter my name into the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining my eligibility. I will continue to push myself every day to make this dream a reality. I appreciate the support from Hawkeye nation as I go through this process.”

Sandfort made the most of his starting opportunity this season by having huge increases in his production. This year head coach Fran McCaffrey made him into a starter and that decision paid dividends. Sandfort would start and play in all 34 games for the Hawkeyes this season averaging 30.5 minutes per contest. His scoring jump significantly as he averaged 16.4 points per contest to lead Iowa in scoring on the year. Sandfort also averages 6.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.7 steals per contest.

What makes Sandfort an ideal prospect for the NBA is not only his size, as he is listed at 6-foot-7, 215lbs, but also his shooting ability. Last year the junior combo guard would shoot 44 percent from the field, just under 38 percent from beyond the arc and was nearly automatic from the free throw line shooting 91 percent on the season.