Move over, Markieff and Marcus Morris.
There’s a new set of twins taking over college hoops.
Hanna and Haley Cavinder are part of a Miami Hurricanes squad trying to win a national title — as of publishing this on Friday, they’re still alive in the 2023 women’s tournament.
Haley — a 5-foot-6 guard from Arizona — is the team’s leading scorer. Hanna — also 5-foot-6, which you’d expect, but they’re actually fraternal twins — averages 3.9 points per game and 1.4 boards.
But if you’re tuning in to the tourney, you should know some interesting facts about the pair. Let’s run down a few as we see if the Hurricanes can keep going:
1
They actually played for Fresno State before landing at Miami
They entered the transfer portal and landed with Hurricanes, although they said it wasn’t about boosting chances for NIL deals (via SI.com):
“I know that a lot of people can assume it could be about NIL,” Hanna added, saying the two sought a program where they can win and “have the best opportunity to get to the March Madness tournament.” Haley did said that she and her sister are “really excited for future business opportunities” presented in Miami.
Speaking of which …
2
They've reportedly made A LOT of money off NIL deals
Per Axios, “their valuations are pegged at $851,000 each.”
And on July 1 of 2021, they were among the first athletes to sign NIL deals with Boost Mobile and Six Star Pro Nutrition.
3
They were also the first to be at the center of an NIL infranction
The NCAA announced Friday that Miami women’s basketball head coach Katie Meier violated rules after having impermissible contact between two prospects and a booster.
It is the first name, image, and likeness-related infraction since a Supreme Court ruling in June 2021 paving the way for student-athletes to monetize off their NIL. …
The violations involve Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who transferred from Fresno State to Miami after the completion of the 2022 season, and Miami booster John Ruiz. Neither the Cavinder twins nor Ruiz was punished in the inquiry and the booster was not disassociated from the program. …
“The investigation did not develop any facts directly linking activities around name, image and likeness to the prospects’ recruitment to or decision to enroll at the University of Miami,” the Committee on Infractions said in its report. “During its review, however, the panel was troubled by the limited nature and severity of institutional penalties agreed upon by Miami and the enforcement staff — namely, the absence of a disassociation of the involved booster.”
4
They have a HUGE following on TikTok
That would be 4.5 MILLION followers as of publishing this.
@cavindertwins
@cavindertwins Replying to @mustafasalih_ in honor of march madness 💃🏼💃🏼 #fyp #basketball #twins
5
Haley had a message for the haters when she helped seal a second-round win over Indiana
Haley Cavinder spoke about her viral shush of Assmebly Hall 😳 pic.twitter.com/0j6MeXiJoS
— ESPN (@espn) March 24, 2023
There were chants about sticking to TikTok, and she sunk the free throws and shushed the crowd.
