Iowa’s Jack McCaffery, Mason Watkins receive McDonald’s All-American nominations

Pair are the only two Iowa boys basketball players to be named for the honor
Jack McCaffery was nominated for McDonald's All-American consideration along with Mason Watkins.
Jack McCaffery was nominated for McDonald's All-American consideration along with Mason Watkins. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa’s Jack McCaffery and Mason Watkins are among the list of nominations for McDonald’s All-American consideration. 

McCaffery, a senior at Iowa City West, is averaging just under 25 points per game. He also averages 8.3 rebounds, nearly three steals and almost two blocks while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 81 percent at the free throw line.

He has committed to Butler, where one brother, Patrick McCaffery, is currently a senior and another, Connor McCaffery, is an assistant coach.

Watkins, a senior at West Burlington, is scoring 29.8 points a night with nearly six assists, five rebounds and three steals. He is knocking down 59 percent of his field goals, 40 percent of his 3-point attempts and is an 82 percent free throw shooter.

He has committed to North Florida to continue playing basketball.

Two recent Iowa basketball players to be named to the McDonald’s All-American game include Omaha Biliew and Payton Sandford. Biliew played in the game in 2023 while Sanford was nominated in 2021. 

McDonald’s All-American designation began in 1977 and has continued each season outside of 2020 and ‘21 due to COVID. There is both a boys and a girls game, along with skills competitions held. The game is televised nationally and was even held in Ames, Iowa at Hilton Coliseum back in 1999. 

The girls game was first played in 2002. 


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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.