McCaffery, Meyer Earn Iowa's B1G Outstanding Sportsmanship Awards

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Redshirt sophomore Connor McCaffery (men’s basketball) and senior Makenzie Meyer (women’s basketball) have been selected as Iowa’s 2020 Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners. The duo was chosen from Iowa’s list of 2019-20 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winners, which had a representative from each varsity sport.

McCaffery, a dual-sport student-athlete in men’s basketball and baseball, excelled both on the court and in the classroom in 2019-20. He helped lead the men’s basketball team to a 20-win season before the postseason was canceled due to the coronavirus global pandemic. The redshirt sophomore led the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.6), while playing four different positions throughout the season. McCaffery is the only Division I player, dating back to 1993, to amass 175 points, 120 assists, 120 rebounds, 25 steals, and 27 or fewer turnovers in a single season. He led the team and tied for seventh in the Big Ten in assists (4.0) and tied for 10th in steals per contest (1.1). McCaffery participated in fall baseball, but did not see action this spring due to the season being canceled on March 12. In the classroom, McCaffery was an Academic All-Big Ten selection, voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, and earned Dean’s List recognition in both the fall and spring semesters.

Meyer prospered on the court and in the classroom during her senior season, earning second team All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten recognition. Meyer helped lead the Hawkeyes to a 23-7 (14-4, B1G) season before the postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Meyer averaged 13.4 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in conference action this season. She netted double figures in 12 conference matchups this season, including four 20-point games. The Mason City, Iowa, native finished the season ranked 29th nationally in 3-pointers made (75) and 32nd in 3-point percentage (41.4). She recorded her game-high 29 points against Towson (Nov. 28), knocking down 5-of-7 3-pointers.

The Big Ten first awarded the Outstanding Sportsmanship honor in 2003. The student-athletes chosen were individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior, were in good academic standing, and demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Following is a list of Iowa’s past Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award Winners: