TikTok star Haley Cavinder ditches easy life, returns to NCAA to play for Texas Christian University: 'I want to win'

After retiring from collegiate sports, social media star Haley Cavinder announced she is returning to Texas Christian University for her final year of NCAA eligibility, putting off a social media-focused life and possible WWE career.

Cavinder has amassed over 1 million followers on Instagram between her own account and that shared with her twin sister, Hanna. On TikTok, the sisters have 4.5 million followers.

The pair became popular social media figures during their time playing basketball for the University of Miami but called it quits after the 2022-23 season.

After an off-season of podcasting and sponsorship deals with the likes of Adidas, Amazon, and Champs, Cavinder decided she would return to the sport for her last year of eligibility.

She told Forbes she felt pressure to move into the influencer life.

"I think ending it with Hanna and announcing that we were done and not going to take our fifth year, I felt — honestly, to be very transparent — a lot of pressure," she said. "There was nothing filling the love for the game, and I just truly was like, I know I'm going to regret it down the road if I don't go back," she added.

The duo signed name, image, and likeness deals with WWE, ESPN reported, and began training with the professional wrestling promotion for what seemed like a new career.

However, the statistically more impressive twin has since committed to Texas Christian University and will join the basketball team for the 2024-25 season.

The Arizona native said that she wanted to "go somewhere and win" for her fifth year, while being impactful. "I want to win," she exclaimed.

While it's unclear whether religious beliefs played a role in her school choice — she has not publicly discussed her religion — multiple outlets have listed Cavinder as a Christian.

Cavinder has posted references to God on multiple occasions. In early 2022, she wrote, "God walks on the very waves we think will drown us."

In July 2020, she also wrote, "God said get ready for unexpected blessings in unlikely places, through weakness he is strong."

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