Photo: Instagram
He's a baseball player.
By Leah Scher — Written on Aug 02, 2019
Earlier this year, Brielle Biermann had the chance to look back on her messy breakup with pro-baseball player Michael Kopech. He wanted to take a break for a year while Brielle waited for him to sow in his wild oats. She wasn't going to have any of that and told him, "I'm not gonna wait on you, dude. You clearly wanna go f**k around. You think I’m stupid? I’m not stupid. I’m not gonna be waiting for you to return. I have a life, too." Now that Kopech is out of the picture, tall and handsome Justin Hooper has entered the Biermann picture. He and the 22-year-old Don't Be Tardy reality TV star attended the Las Vegas nuptials of Jake Paul and Tana Mongeau together on July 28. Justin Michael Hooper, also 22-years-old, is a pro-baseball player for the Kansas City Royals. The San Mateo, California native stands at a colossal 6'8". What else do we know about him, though? Who is Justin Hooper, if not just Brielle Biermann's wedding date?
1. He began his athletic career at UCLA.
Justin Hooper was the UCLA Bruins' pitcher, according to his player profile. He chose the school for its strong academics and top baseball program. During his UCLA career, he logged a 2-2 record, 5.73 ERA, and 61 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. He took a step back in 2018 due to injury, though. At his high school in San Ramon, California, he had what he considered his "biggest athletic thrill" at the time: pitching at the famous Wrigley Field in Chicago during the Under Armour All-American Game on August 16, 2014.
2. He comes from a very athletic family.
His older brother Austin played football at Stanford. Now, he's in the NFL and plays for the Atlanta Falcons. His younger sister, Alexis, 16, plays varsity basketball at California High School in San Ramon. His father played football at San Diego State and was also In the NFL, and his mother played center on her high school basketball tram.
3. He volunteered during high school at Challenger Baseball, Inc.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he was a member of Challenger Baseball, Inc. in Dublin, California throughout his high school career in August of 2012 through 2015. He "helped establish fundamental knowledge of the sport while bettering a safe space for children." The Little League Challenger Division is Little League’s adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges. There are currently over 950 Challenger programs in 10 countries around the world, with over 30,000 athletes participating in the Challenger Division every year. He was also a coach at UCLA Bruins Baseball Camp, a program held at Jackie Robinson Stadium that offers kids fun instruction in all aspects of the game.
4. He missed the entire 2018 season because of Tommy John surgery.
Tommy John surgery is actually ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, which is commonly used to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament inside the elbow by replacing it with a healthy tendon from elsewhere in the body. The goal of the surgery is to stabilize the elbow, reduce or eliminate pain and restore stability and range of motion. This procedure was first performed in 1974 on baseball pitcher Tommy John, hence the name. Hooper underwent the procedure as a result of an injury during the 2018 season.
5. He isn't Biermann's first baseball boy.
Biermann dated Michael Kopech for two years between 2016 and 2018 before Hooper entered her playing field. Kopech was drafted in the first round with the 33rd overall selection of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox, and now he's a starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. He and Brielle met through a mutual acquaintence who also plays baseball. Their romance took off when Kopech reached out to her over Twitter. When they split in March of 2018, he began dating Vanessa Morgan, a Canadian actress. It's unclear how Hooper and Biermann met, but as far as the pictures show, they're happy with where they're at.
6. By the way, the whole wedding was a sham.
Literally. In MTV's new episode of Tana's YouTube show Tana Turns 21, Tana said she and Jake "aren't officially exclusive" and implied they're doing this whole thing "for the content." She gave a rambling justification about how they're "trying to piece together the puzzles of what we actually want this engagement and 'marriage' to be" because she has "a lot of love for him, but it's still something fun and light-hearted that we're obviously doing for fun and for content." Ah, yes, the ol' fake-engagement-for-more-viewers stunt. Has she ever considered just throwing a party for the fun of it? Does she know it didn't have to be an engagement party?
Leah Scher is an ENFP finishing her degree at Brandeis University. She's an alumna of the Kenyon Review Young Writer's Workshop the Iowa Young Writers' Studio. She's passionate about Judaism, poetry, film, satire, astrology, spirituality, and sexual health.