/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72352639/1476909416.0.jpg)
Haley and Hanna Cavinder, or the ‘Cavinder Twins’ as they are known, could be transitioning from the hardwood to the squared circle in the near future.
The twin college basketball standouts were at the WWE Performance Center this week and made a cameo appearance on WWE NXT. That has led to increased speculation on if they will sign with the professional wrestling promotion in the near future. Both sisters currently have name, image, and likeness, or “NIL”, deals with the WWE and in an interview, they told The Athletic’s Chris Vannini that there is currently no timeline for a decision being made about signing.
Thea Hail wins, the Cavinder twins join Chase U in the ring pic.twitter.com/7Lr1V0PAcn
— CJ Fogler (@cjzer0) June 7, 2023
Beginning their college basketball careers in 2019, the duo excelled in their three seasons at Fresno State and emerged as two of the elite players on the Mountain West Conference. Averaging 19.9 points and 7.5 rebounds, Haley earned MWC Player of the Year honors during the 2020-21 season. With the relaxing of NCAA transfer rules, the twins transferred to Miami this past season and played parts in the Hurricanes’ first ever run to the Elite Eight during the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
While successful on the court, they became more known off of it as social media influencers, garnering millions of followers on TikTok. They were able to parlay that into lucrative NIL deals with companies like Champs Sports, Eastbay, and the WWE, among others. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise this past April when the Cavinder’s opted to forego an extra year of collegiate eligibility to pursue business opportunities. And now here they sit as two potential, high profile signees for the biggest wrestling company in the world.
Along with its NIL initiative, the WWE has made a more focused effort in recent years to sign and train former college athletes. Former college athletes like Roman Reigns and Bianca Belair stand as some of the top stars in the entire industry, so there is certainly a path for the Cavinder twins to do the same.