NCAA Approves Medical Hardship Waiver For Iowa’s Connor McCaffery

While the 2017-’18 season may not have gone as well as Hawkeye fans may have wanted, they did get some good news earlier this week, when the Big Ten announced that freshman guard Connor McCaffery had been granted a medical hardship waiver.

Players are generally only allowed four years of eligibility, plus a redshirt year, but can apply for an additional year in the event of a medical issues.While McCaffery played this season and theoretically burned his redshirt, he still ended up missing two games due to an ankle injury, eight games with mononucleosis, and 19 games due to a tonsillectomy.

All told, McCaffery played in just four games during the 2017-’18 season and a total of 53 minutes, with all of his playing time coming in December. His most impressive performance was likely his five points, four assists, and three rebounds against Southern.

But while his true freshman season wasn’t all that impressive, McCaffery arrived on campus with plenty of hype. He was rated as the top player in Iowa in 2017 by 247Sports and as a four-star recruit by ESPN. Many thought he could be the next in the line of great forwards and wing players that Iowa has produced over the last few years.

Getting an extra year of eligibility won’t guarantee success for Iowa and McCaffery in the years ahead, but this should be welcome news for a fanbase that hasn’t seen much break in the right direction over the last 12 months.