Notre Dame Fighting Irish lose out on 4-star forward to in-state rival
While the Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball team is expected to be better than it was this past season, Micah Shrewsberry’s team is all about building and growing. To that end, they’ve been making some real noise on the recruiting front.
Despite getting some very talented in-state eyeballs turned towards South Bend, there are still some limitations. After all, Notre Dame just had back-to-back losing seasons. They are just starting to try and recruit at the level of other big-time programs.
That’s why the loss of 4-star recruit Jack McCaffery to in-state rival Butler is disappointing, it doesn’t quite register as surprising. McCaffery, the son of Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey announced he’d picked the Bulldogs over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and others on Monday.
2025 4⭐️ Jack McCaffery, the son of Iowa HC Fran McCaffery, tells @LeagueRDY he’s committed to Butler.
— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) July 29, 2024
McCaffery is a 6-8 forward who can really shoot the ball with extended range. Can play inside or outside the arc and has effective playmaking ability with the ball in his… pic.twitter.com/dmejIgCiG1
Notre Dame Fighting Irish lose out on 4-star forward to in-state rival
The 6-foot-8 power forward is the top player in the state of Iowa for the 2025 class. Because of that, he certainly had his pick of teams he could go to. Butler, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest were among the power conference teams that wanted to haul him in.
It’s not hard to see why Jack picked Butler over his dad’s school though.
Not playing for his father was always part of McCaffery's recruiting plan. McCaffery told The Gazette earlier this year that he wanted to "try something different" after his older brothers Patrick and Connor played at Iowa under their father. Patrick played five seasons for Iowa before transferring to Butler this past offseason for his final year of eligibility.
"The offense fits me a lot," McCaffery said about. "They run an interesting type of offense. ... I'll have the ball in my hands to make decisions, play open, free, fast, and shoot a lot of threes. It fits the way I want to play and I think it was the perfect fit."
It is worth noting that while Butler did secure the commitment, he hasn’t taken an official visit yet. It’s possible that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish could still sneak in and steal him, if they play it just right.
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