The Cavinder twins are returning to UM women’s basketball team after one-year hiatus

The Cavinder twins are returning to the University of Miami women’s basketball team for a final season after a one-year hiatus from the game.

Hanna announced her decision on Wednesday, and her sister, Haley, who had planned to transfer to TCU, changed her mind and announced Thursday that she would be back at Miami with her sister.

Haley posted on social media a photo of she and her sister in their No. 14 and No. 15 UM uniforms with the caption: “Given the news yesterday that my sister was returning to play ball at Miami and after careful consideration and thought, I’ve decided to return to the University of Miami and play with Hanna for our final and 5th year. There is nothing more important than family and the bond I share with my twin sister. Being presented with the opportunity to play together one more time is something I cannot pass up. I am excited for this upcoming season and can’t wait to play at the U.”

The UM women’s basketball team posted “The twins are back!”

Hanna had said she was done with college basketball after the Hurricanes’ historic Elite Eight run in 2023. Haley announced in November 2023 that she was transferring to TCU for the 2024-25 season, but with the transfer portal in full flux, she opted to switch back to UM.

“My last season of basketball was one of the most successful and challenging years of my life but it helped me evolve and grow in ways that are unexplainable,” Hanna posted to the twins’ 4.5 million TikTok followers on Wednesday. “Over these past few months I have been itching to get back to the game that I thought I lost the passion for. Nothing quite fills the void that this sport brings me.

“With that being said, I have decided to return for one more season. Let’s run it back Miami. I had a purpose before everyone had an opinion.”

They arrived at UM in the summer of 2022 with $1 million in endorsements and much fanfare after transferring from Fresno State. They helped lead the Hurricanes to the program’s first Elite Eight with upset wins over Oklahoma State, Indiana and Villanova.

When the twins were deciding whether to return for a fifth season or leave college basketball, Hanna wanted to quit, and Haley wanted to stay. They eventually chose to leave.

Since leaving the Hurricanes they have been promoting their various sponsors and working with the WWE. But with the surge in popularity of women’s college basketball in recent months, it would make sense for the highly-marketable twins to return to the game.

Haley won Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, averaging 19.8 points per game in back-to-back seasons at Fresno State. She started all 35 Miami games, averaged 12.2 points and 4.9 rebounds and shot a career-best 40.4 percent from three-point range.

Hanna also received All-Mountain West honors as a freshman and sophomore and averaged 14.6 points per game at Fresno State. At UM she averaged 16 minutes and 3.8 points per game.