Haley Cavinder Shares Candid Behind the Scenes Pics From SI Swimsuit Cover Shoot

The retired basketball player was photographed on Captiva Island for the February 2026 digital issue.

Haley Cavinder was photographed by Katherine Goguen on Captiva Island, Fla. Swimsuit by Lybethras Swimwear. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Haley Cavinder is officially an SI Swimsuit digital issue cover girl. The 25-year-old athlete-turned-entrepreneur posed for her February 2026 feature on Captiva Island in the Fort Myers, Fla., area, where she was photographed by Katherine Goguen.

And while her official gallery of images was released last week, Cavinder is giving her Instagram followers a peek behind the scenes. On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the University of Miami graduate shared a carousel of candid pics from set, starting with a stunning selfie. Cavinder sat in a vehicle while modeling the navy Lybethras bikini and Zandria hat that would result in her cover image. She held one hand to her hip while she pursed her lips and snapped the photo with her free hand.

In another slide, Cavinder posed against a palm tree in the same two-piece and accessory. Her post also included two close-up selfies in the swimwear set, as well as a cute personality pic in which she wore a denim and white bikini by SAME. Getting ready for her time in the spotlight, Cavinder wore gray sweats and an unzipped hoodie over her bikini and sported rollers in her hair.

Haley Cavinder was photographed by Katherine Goguen on Captiva Island, Fla. Swimsuit by SAME. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

The retired basketball player also posted content alongside the women she shared her time on set with—including Christen Goff, Brittany Mahomes, Claire Kittle, Ronika Love and Normani—and ended her photo dump with a pic curled up in a blanket trying to stay warm on set next to SI Swimsuit’s fashion editor, Margot Zamet.

In her caption, Cavinder shared her excitement over appearing on SI Swimsuit’s latest digital cover, and issued a big “thank you” to several members of the magazine’s staff.

“Sorry for the spam these past couple of days — last BTS post from the best day at @si_swimsuit 🤠,” she wrote. “So grateful to be a cover girl?!!! This has been a dream of mine for so long, and I’m beyond thankful for the team who made it possible. @mj_day , @sevaneveritt , and @hillarydrezner_siswim — thank you for helping make this dream come true 🫶🏼😭 .”

Tons of Cavinder’s followers chimed into the comments section to hype her up, with several users begging for more behind the scenes content.

“Never stop spamming us with this content 😍,” one person wrote, in reference to Cavinder’s apology in her caption.

“Apologize?! Girl we are thanking you! Lol! These are insane 😍😍😍😍😍,” someone else concurred.

“Plot twist we actually need more bc 🔥😮‍💨,” another person begged.

“YOU ARE KIDDING MEEEE🔥🔥,” fellow SI Swimsuit model Katie Austin exclaimed.