A 23-year-old Chicago acquisition analyst and property manager is one of 32 men competing for Clare Crawley’s heart on the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette,” the ABC network announced Wednesday.
ABC released the first names and hometowns of 32 contestants on Facebook. “Bachelor” blogger “Reality Steve” Carbone identified the Chicagoan as James Clarke, a former basketball standout at Loyola Academy in Wilmette.
He went on to play guard at Spring Hill College in Alabama and DePauw University in Indiana. He has worked at the property management firm Winnemac Properties since January, according to his LinkedIn page.
Clarke — who is known as “Meatball” — is the youngest contestant on Season 16, which is scheduled to premiere May 18. Most of the season’s contestants are between the ages of 25 and 28. Nine men are 30 or older.
At 38 years old, Crawley is the oldest “Bachelorette” star in the history of the show. Her first franchise appearance was as a contestant on Juan Pablo Galavis’ season of “The Bachelor” in 2014, the year Clarke graduated from Loyola Academy. She later appeared on “Bachelor in Paradise” and “The Bachelor Winter Games.”