Former Bradley University basketball player is set to star on ‘The Bachelorette’ – Peoria Journal Star
Not long ago, Michelle Young spent late Septembers preparing for the impending women’s basketball season at Bradley University.
This year, Young is preparing for yet another turn on one of the longer-running reality programs on national television.
Young, 28, is to be the star of the upcoming 18th season of “The Bachelorette,” part of ABC’s “Bachelor” programming stable.
Her debut episode is to air locally at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 on Heart of Illinois ABC. Subsequent episodes are to air Tuesday nights for the ensuing two months or so.
“The Bachelorette” season is the second time this year Young has been a primary reality-TV figure. A schoolteacher from suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Young was a finalist in the most recent season of “The Bachelor.”
Shortly after that, the 2015 Bradley graduate found out she would be part of a unique “Bachelorette” experience.
Here’s a look at what’s been happening with Young, what’s set to happen next month and when and how she played basketball in Peoria.
Previously:Ex-Bradley athlete Michelle Young didn’t win ‘The Bachelor,’ but her consolation prize isn’t bad
How did Michelle Young end up on ‘The Bachelorette’?
In late March, Young was one of two remaining contestants as “The Bachelor” season finale began. But season protagonist Matt James didn’t pick Young as his happily-ever-after partner.
Young received a decent consolation prize.
Immediately after the final “Bachelor” episode was aired, it was revealed Young would be one of two women to star later in the year on “The Bachelorette.” The other was Katie Thurston, who finished 11th on “The Bachelor.”
Thurston’s “Bachelorette” season aired from June 7 until Aug. 9. This was the first time in a single year two bachelorettes were to select husbands from respective casts of several dozen men.
“I am ready. I’m excited that I get to have somebody to bond over with on this and share notes,” Young said when the new season was announced.
When was her ‘Bachelorette’ season filmed?
Reports suggest production for Young’s season began at the end of July and ended in early September.
During Young’s “Bachelor” season, all episodes took place at a resort in Pennsylvania. The coronavirus pandemic limited travel.
According to Marie Claire, Young’s turn as “Bachelorette” took place at a resort near Palm Springs, Calif., and at a hotel in Minneapolis.
Whether COVID-19 restrictions allowed Young to visit the hometowns of her final four candidates, as is typical, isn’t certain.
Reports indicate the “Bachelorette” production schedule was altered to allow Young to maintain her teaching job. During the 2020-21 academic year, she taught at Echo Park Elementary School in Burnsville, Minn.
Because of “The Bachelor,” Young didn’t return to the classroom until late November, she told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
“I didn’t want to miss my students anymore,” Young said. “I had already spent a lot of time away from them during the school year. I said, ‘If you want me as your Bachelorette, you’ve got to move it to the summer.’ They did.”
How did her ‘Bachelorette’ season go?
Well, there’s no real way to tell until the episodes are aired. But earlier this week, ABC released a video teaser that reveals at least some idea of what viewers can expect.
The 35 contestants range in age from mid-20s through mid-30s. Like Young, some are former college athletes. Their jobs range from personal trainer (at least four of those) to baseball hitting instructor to firefighter to generic “entrepreneur.”
A contestant who didn’t win might have more reality TV in his future.
Earlier this month, Variety reported one of Young’s “Bachelorette” suitors, Clayton Echard, will be the star of the next season of “The Bachelor.” Usually, that series’ season begins in January.
Peoria on reality TV:Former Washington football player, ‘Bachelor’ star Colton Underwood comes out as gay
Echard played football at the University of Missouri. In 2016, he signed with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted rookie tight end.
In that respect, Echard compares to Colton Underwood, a Washington Community High School graduate who also played football at Illinois State University and had cups of coffee with several NFL teams.
Underwood was a “Bachelorette” contestant in 2018. In 2019, he was star of “The Bachelor.” Earlier this year, Underwood announced he’s gay.
Recently, Underwood has been working on a Netflix series about his adjustments to public life as a gay man. He also is reported to be dating Jordan Brown, a Democratic Party campaign strategist.
When did Michelle Young play basketball at Bradley?
Young’s on-court career between 2011 and 2015 at Bradley was distinguished.
In her senior season on the Hilltop, 2014-15, Young averaged 12 points and 2.1 steals per game. Both statistics were team highs. She had a career-high 38 points in an overtime loss at Columbia.
More Bradley basketball:Inside the talent and drive of Bradley’s Gabi Haack — and why she’s coming back for a fifth year
Young finished at Bradley with 1,062 points, 13th on the program’s all-time list, and was an honorable-mention all-Missouri Valley Conference selection as a junior.
Academically, Young also shined. She was an MVC first-team scholar-athlete her junior and senior seasons. She served on the Bradley Student-Athlete Advisory Council and its Ethnic Diversity Athletics Committee.
Young came to Bradley following an all-state high school hoops career in Woodbury, Minn., located just east of St. Paul.
