Haley Cavinder

Haley Cavinder (born January 13, 2001) is an American social media personality and college basketball player for the Miami Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). She began her college career at Fresno State, where she was a three-time All-Mountain West selection and was named Mountain West Player of the Year in her sophomore season. As a junior, she set the NCAA Division I single-season free throw percentage record, before transferring to Miami.

Haley Cavinder
Cavinder with Gilbert High School in 2017
Miami Hurricanes
PositionPoint guard
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (2001-01-13) January 13, 2001
South Bend, Indiana
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Career information
High schoolGilbert (Gilbert, Arizona)
College
Career highlights and awards
  • Mountain West Player of the Year (2021)
  • 3× All-Mountain West Team (2020–2022)
  • Mountain West Freshman of the Year (2020)
  • Mountain West All-Freshman Team (2020)

Cavinder and her identical twin and teammate, Hanna, have a large social media following and share a TikTok account with millions of followers. They are leading figures in college sports endorsements, signing name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with several companies, including Boost Mobile and WWE, and co-founding the clothing company Baseline Team.

Early life and high school career

Cavinder was born in South Bend, Indiana.[1] She started playing basketball before preschool and watched drills on YouTube to improve her skills. Cavinder competed in boys leagues until sixth grade before playing against girls who were two to three years older than her.[2] She also played soccer and volleyball before focusing on basketball in middle school. She emulated her game after Skylar Diggins-Smith.[3]

Cavinder played for Gilbert High School in Gilbert, Arizona alongside her twin sister, Hanna, and another sister, Brandi, who was two years ahead of them. The Cavinder twins were drawn there by coach Kyle Pedersen, who had trained them since they were in sixth grade and was their coach with Arizona Elite Basketball Club. As a freshman at Gilbert, Cavinder assumed a leading role along with Hanna,[4] and helped the team reach the state quarterfinals.[5] In her sophomore season, she was named most valuable player at the Tournament of Champions. As a junior, Cavinder averaged 23 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 3.9 steals per game,[6] leading Gilbert to the Class 6A state semifinals.[7] In her senior season, she averaged 21.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, helping her team reach the Class 5A state title game. She was named Arizona 5A Player of the Year and finished with 2,282 career points.[1]

College career

On February 1, 2020, Cavinder scored 31 points, a Fresno State single-game freshman record, along with six assists and five steals, in an 84–78 win against New Mexico.[8] As a freshman, she averaged 15.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Cavinder recorded the most points (512) and rebounds (233) by a freshman in program history.[1] She was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year and to the All-Mountain West Team and All-Freshman Team.[9]

Cavinder scored a sophomore season-high 30 points in a 78–70 win over Nevada on January 14, 2021.[10] As a sophomore, she averaged a conference-high 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game,[1] leading Fresno State to the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.[11] Cavinder became the fastest Fresno State player to reach 1,000 career points.[12] She was named Mountain West Player of the Year, becoming the third sophomore to win the award.[13] She earned All-Mountain West honors for a second straight season.[1]

As a junior in 2021–22, Cavinder led the Bulldogs in scoring (19.8 per game), rebounding (9.4), and assists (5.8)[14] on her way to her third straight All-Mountain West selection.[15] She also had three triple-doubles, second in NCAA Division I to Iowa's Caitlin Clark and the most all-time by a Fresno State player.[16][17] Cavinder set a new Division I single-season record for free throw percentage, with 97.3%.[18] Following the season, the Cavinder twins announced on April 21, 2022 that they would transfer to Miami (Florida), with the university confirming it the same day. Both twins have two years of remaining athletic eligibility because the NCAA is not counting the 2020–21 season, extensively disrupted by COVID-19, against the eligibility of any basketball player.[19][20]

Social media and endorsements

Cavinder has established a large social media following with her twin sister and basketball teammate, Hanna. In April 2020, while bored at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was persuaded by Hanna, who used TikTok, to make videos together on a shared account on the platform. The videos feature Cavinder and her sister performing synchronized dances, dribbling and lip syncing side-by-side.[21] By April 2022, the twins had four million followers on TikTok.[22]

The Cavinder twins have made national headlines for their success with college sports endorsements and are among the most prominent college athletes in the field.[21][23] On July 1, 2021, after the NCAA began allowing student-athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), the twins signed deals with Boost Mobile within minutes of it being permitted.[24] On December 8, 2021, they signed with professional wrestling promotion WWE as part of its new Next In Line program to develop college athletes into potential WWE wrestlers.[25] On January 18, 2022, the twins announced that they had co-founded the streetwear clothing startup Baseline Team. They were given 25 percent equity stake in the company and one of three seats on the board of directors.[26] The twins have also signed NIL deals with Champs Sports, Eastbay, Gopuff and SoFi, among other companies.[23][27]

Personal life

Cavinder is the daughter of Katie and Tom Cavinder. She has four sisters, including an identical twin, Hanna, who has been her basketball teammate in high school and college. Her father played college basketball at Nova Southeastern.[2] In college, Cavinder is a business major with a focus on marketing.[28] As a sophomore at Fresno State, she was named to the Academic All-District 8 first team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.[12]

References
  1. "Haley Cavinder – Women's Basketball". Fresno State Athletics. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  2. Bemis, Scott (February 21, 2021). "Bulldog Insider feature: Before they were Bulldogs (Haley and Hanna Cavinder)". KSEE. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  3. Scott, Dana (January 11, 2019). "Gilbert twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder peak as the best tandem in 5A girls basketball". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  4. Smith, Eric (January 10, 2016). "Three's a charm: Gilbert's Cavinder sisters help lead Tigers together". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  5. Skoda, Jason P. (January 9, 2017). "Gilbert hot start helped by chemistry, being good teammates". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  6. Mitchell, Josh (November 14, 2018). "'Dogs add five in 2019 signing class". Fresno State Athletics. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  7. Newman, Eric (December 19, 2018). "Gilbert girls basketball hopes for state crown". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  8. Mitchell, Josh (February 1, 2020). "Haley Cavinder's 31 points propels 'Dogs to 84-78 comeback at New Mexico". Fresno State Athletics. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  9. King, Nick (April 11, 2020). "Gilbert's Cavinder twins enjoy breakout freshman season". KTVK. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  10. Mitchell, Josh (January 14, 2021). "Haley Cavinder's 30-point effort propels 'Dogs to 78-70 win over Nevada". Fresno State Athletics. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  11. Moore, Jackson (March 14, 2022). "Fresno State stars Haley, Hanna Cavinder enter transfer portal". Bark Board. 247Sports. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  12. Mitchell, Josh (May 6, 2021). "Haley Cavinder selected to CoSIDA Academic All-District Team". Fresno State Athletics. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  13. Mellon, Brianna (July 1, 2021). "Fresno State Women's Basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder sign business deals after NCAA ruling". KFSN-TV. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  14. "2021–2022 Fresno State Women's Basketball Overall Statistics". Fresno State Bulldogs. March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  15. "Mountain West Announces 2021-22 Women's Basketball All-Conference Team and Individual Awards" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  16. "Division I Women's Basketball Statistics: Triple-Doubles". NCAA.com. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  17. Mitchell, Josh (January 22, 2022). "'Dogs come up just short in The Pit". Fresno State Athletics. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  18. Lopresti, Mike (March 9, 2022). "A quick guide to the weird, wild and intriguing storylines in women's hoops". NCAA.com. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  19. Reynolds, Tim (April 21, 2022). "Basketball's Cavinder twins say they've transferred to Miami". Associated Press. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  20. "Cavinder Sisters Sign with Hurricanes" (Press release). Miami Hurricanes. April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  21. Karimi, Faith (July 11, 2021). "These twin sisters are college basketball stars and have 3 million TikTok followers. Now they're cashing in". CNN. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  22. Lichtenstein, Adam (April 22, 2022). "Cavinder twins bring strong skills and millions of social-media followers to Miami women's basketball". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  23. Harris, Craig (January 26, 2022). "The Cavinder twins, 'queens' of college sports endorsements, poised to make $1 million". USA Today. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  24. Murphy, Dan (July 1, 2021). "Let's make a deal: NCAA athletes cashing in on name, image and likeness". ESPN. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  25. Raimondi, Marc (December 8, 2021). "WWE signs 15 college athletes to NIL deals, eyes developmental pipeline". ESPN. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  26. Dosh, Kristi (January 18, 2022). "Cavinder Twins Flex Their Muscles As Entrepreneurs With Their Latest NIL Deal". Forbes. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  27. Kuwada, Robert (July 2, 2021). "Fresno State twins with huge TikTok following sign another endorsement deal". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  28. Lee, BoNhia (November 15, 2021). "A New Era". Fresno State Magazine. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
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