How Haley Cavinder will influence TCU on and off the court

The four-time all conference point guard and top college sports influencer will compete in her fifth and final year of eligibility in 2024-2025.

Guiding Miami to their first-ever Elite Eight appearance last March, Cavinder led the Hurricanes in scoring, minutes per game (30.9), 3-point field goal percentage (.404) and free throw percentage. At ‘6, Cavinder averaged 12.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, earning her second team all-ACC selection last season.

Starting 122 of 124 of her career games at point guard, Cavinder has averaged 16.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, which includes her one-year stint at Coral Gables and three-year all-conference tenure at Fresno State. She is one of 25 active collegians to score 2,000 career points at the end of the 2022-23 season.

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At Fresno State, Cavinder had a monumental third season, averaging 19.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and becoming the third player in Mountain West history to lead the conference in scoring and rebounding. Ranking 10th among all Division I players in defensive rebounds (234) and 15th in assists per game (5.7), she also set an NCAA record for free throw percentage (.973), sinking 109-112 from the charity stripe and became the 20th player in NCAA history to record three triple-doubles in a season.

In 2020-21, Cavinder was crowned Mountain West Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore, becoming the conference’s third second-year player to ever win the highest annual honor. For the second consecutive season, she led the conference in scoring with 19.8 points per game. She ranked sixth nationally in total minutes (1026:50), ninth in field goal attempts (479) and 18th in total points.

Cavinder made waves on the national scene in 2019-20 when she took home Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors. Breaking Fresno State’s freshman records for most points (512) and most rebounds (233) in a season, she also led the team and finished second in the conference in points per game (16.0 ppg), total points (512) and made field goals (189). Cavinder was also just one of nine players and the only freshman and player under 5-10 in the country to average at least 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game.

Though her 2019-20 postseason was cut short due to COVID-19, Cavinder wasted no time showcasing her personality on social media, increasing in popularity during the pandemic.

Cavinder and twin sister, Hanna, whom also played at Fresno State and Miami, have garnered 4.5 million followers on their joint TikTok account, making it the second-most followed account among all college athletes. On her Instagram account of more than 700,000 followers, Cavinder announced her verbal commitment to play for TCU and head coach Mark Campbell. She ended the 2022-23 season with an NIL value of $835,000.

Initially, Cavinder chose to retire from college basketball in April after her twin announced she was walking away from the sport. But then Cavinder entered the transfer portal in October, opting to use her COVID-19 eligibility waiver.

Campbell has picked up a graduate student point guard from the transfer portal for four straight seasons with Cavinder’s commitment. During his tenure at Sacramento State, he secured eventual Big Sky MVPs Kahlaijah Dean (2023) and Lianna Tillman (2022), then added Jaden Owens from Baylor in May.

As a senior at Gilbert High School in Gilbert, Arizona, Cavinder was named the state’s 5A Player of the Year and averaged 21.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game that season. ESPN Hoopgurlz ranked her the No. 27 guard in the national class of 2019.