Somehow, high school sports and "The Bachelor" franchise make a good match – even if the relationships from the TV show rarely do.
The next installment of the popular ABC show, the 27th season, features another former high school athlete,
Zach Shallcross, who played football and track and field at
Servite (Anaheim, Calif.).
The 26-year-old was a contestant on the recently-wrapped "Bachelorette" and didn't find love with Rachel Recchia, leaving the show after a disastrous fantasy suite experience.
Shallcross, a tech executive working for Oracle, also played college football at Cal Poly, where he graduated with a business degree.
Servite went 6-6 in 2013 during his senior season. An offensive and defensive lineman, Shallcross was a team captain and helped the Friars reach the CIF Southern Section Pac 5 quarterfinals. He also competed in track and field with throws of 44 feet, 9 inches in the shot put and 104-2 in the discus.
Zach Shallcross was named the next "Bachelor" on Tuesday. The tech executive played high school football at Servite, graduating in 2013.
Photo: Ted Aguirre
Another of Shallcross' claims to fame is being the nephew of actor Patrick Warburton, who has appeared on "Seinfeld," "The Orville" and "Family Guy."
Will Shallcross be able to tackle love? Fans will have to wait for spoilers to leak or watch as the next season is set for early 2023.
Shallcross is not the first former high school athlete on "The Bachelor."
Madison Prewett, a four-time state basketball champion from Alabama's
Lee-Scott Academy (Auburn, Ala.), appeared on the show in 2020. Matt James was a multi-sport standout from
Sanderson (Raleigh, N.C.) and a Wake Forest football player who appeared on the show in 2021. And Jordan Rodgers, brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and
Pleasant Valley (Chico, Calif.) football standout, recently married JoJo Fletcher in May after six years of being together after their show's end.
