Michelle Young is an avid lover of basketball, which means that college basketball player Joe Coleman might be put in the spotlight on The Bachelorette season 18. Overall, there's a long history of pro football players doing extremely well in their respective seasons within The Bachelor universe. From Jesse Palmer to Sean Lowe to Dale Moss to Matt James, football players have always reigned supreme as fan-favorite contestants looking for love on this series.
On the other hand, there haven't been too many examples of other athletes doing as well on the show. In fact, Venezuelan soccer player Juan Pablo Galavis has been deemed one of the worst Bachelor leads of all time, while race car driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. was unanimously hated for the way he led on Becca Kufrin. With that said, The Bachelor series is known for keeping fans on their toes, so there's always a chance that an unexpected cast member will rise to the very top of the competition.
Joe Coleman is coming into The Bachelorette season 18 as a 28-year-old real estate developer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Back in his school days, however, Joe was a very prominent basketball player who got a lot of attention from mainstream media. He started his basketball career at Hopkins High School, leading the school team to three consecutive state championships in 2009, 2010, and 2011. As a result of his performance in the court, Joe was named one of ESPN's Top 100 Recruits in 2011. He also won Minnesota's Bob McDonald Mr. Basketball Award in 2011. Following all of those accolades, Joe embarked on his college basketball career playing for the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the University of Minnesota.
Bachelor Nation is already well aware that Michelle Young is a huge fan of basketball, so there's no doubt she'll be bonding with Joe over their love of basketball. It is also noteworthy that both Michelle and Joe are 28 years of age and come from Minnesota. There should be a lot of common ground between them, but those theoretical commonalities don't always translate into a solid relationship. Hopefully, Joe will be able to make a good impression on Michelle so he can stick around for a few weeks and perhaps even go all the way to the end.
Michelle's journey on The Bachelorette is only getting started, and reality TV is certainly uncharted territory for Joe. Bachelor Nation will keep rooting for only the best to happen between them, and hoping that perhaps they will be great matches for each other. In any case, viewers hope that the best man for Michelle can win.
The Bachelorette season 18 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Sources: Joe Coleman/Instagram, ESPN, Bob McDonald Mr. Basketball Award, Minnesota Golden Gophers