Learn More About Indiana Women's Basketball 2025 Commit Nevaeh Caffey

The newest Indiana women's basketball commit, Nevaeh Caffey, chose the Hoosiers on March 2. HoosiersNow spoke to Caffey's high school coach, Dan Rolfes, a 12-time state champion in Missouri, to learn more about what Caffey can bring to Indiana.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Six days after going on an official visit to Indiana women’s basketball, class of 2025 point guard Nevaeh Caffey committed to the Hoosiers. For the past 18 months, Indiana has been at the top of Caffey’s list, said her high school coach, Dan Rolfes. She went on other visits and took other calls, but Indiana checked all the boxes. It was a gut feeling. 

The 5-foot-10 Caffey is in her junior season at Incarnate Word Academy in Missouri, averaging 13.9 points, three rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. She is the No. 2 ranked player in the state, per Prep Girls Hoops, and has yet to lose any games in her high school career. Incarnate Word has won 129 consecutive games, breaking the Missouri record at 124. They play Friday on the path to seeking their fourth straight state title.

“Not only does [Caffey] obviously want to win games, but she's the kind of kid that wants to win every drill,” Rolfes said in an interview with HoosiersNow. “Really good on-ball defender, gets a lot of deflections … and she’s just a real calm kid out there. You could walk in the gym halfway through the game. She could be 0-for-10, or 10-for-10, and you wouldn’t know the difference.”

Rolfes said Caffey has both driven to the basket and shot the 3-point well this season. But her high school career wasn’t always triumphant. Caffey was an eighth-grade star who had to battle with — and behind — then-senior Saniah Tyler, eventually bound for the University of Kentucky in the SEC. Caffey didn’t get many minutes. She and Rolfes met that offseason.

“It was no doubt, It was probably the hardest basketball year of her life,” Rolfes said. “I told her like, ‘Nothing's guaranteed, you didn't get a lot of minutes, but you played hard every practice. I fully believe that for the next three years, you're going to be our point guard.’ She hasn't let me down … I think the fact that she knew that she had a really good shot of the next three years starting and being a pretty big focal point of our team. I think that's kind of what got her through.”

Of course, there’s room for improvement. Caffey isn’t the most vocal point guard, which is an important trait for the position. But she excels in other areas, such as involving her teammates on the court. Rolfes said because Caffey plays with competitiveness and aggressiveness, it elevates her team to play up to that level. She doesn’t holler at them. Rather, she does demand an intently focused mindset. Caffey is relentless with the team's younger point guard in practice.

“More of a command of the game,” Rolfes said on improvement for Caffey’s senior year. “It’s hard for a freshman point guard to come in and be extremely demanding. Especially when you’ve got juniors and seniors ahead of her … but I also think she’s done a really, really good job of improving her shot … she sees the floor very well … she just needs to command more.”

Caffey joins Maya Makalusky as the second Hoosier commit in the class of 2025. Both are guards, which brings balance in an important get for coach Teri Moren. Indiana's incoming 2024 class has two forwards. Caffey is set to arrive at Indiana right as point guard Chloe Moore-McNeil departs. Moore-McNeil is similarly praised for solid on-ball defense, court awareness to get her teammates involved, and her shooting capability.

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