Olivia Dunne's boyfriend is Paul Skenes. With the NCAA agreeing to the Name, Image, and Likeness policy, it's safe to say that Dunne is living the dream of every student athlete. Apart from making waves in gymnastics, she is also earning a lot of money from various endorsement deals, making her the highest-paid female NCAA athlete today.
But while things are going well with Dunne's budding career, it seems like things are also going in the right direction in terms of her romantic life. Let's get to know more about Olivia Dunne's rumored boyfriend Paul Skenes.
Olivia Dunne's rumored boyfriend Paul Skenes
Paul Skenes was born on May 29, 2002, in Fullerton, Calif. Skenes attended El Toro High School, where he suited up for the baseball team. While playing for El Toro, Skenes earned various distinctions such as all-county, all-conference, all-league, and all-state honors. Furthermore, Skenes was also a three-year letter winner, according to lsusports.net.
College Baseball with the United States Air Force Academy
After graduating from high school, Skenes attended the United States Air Force Academy. He played for the baseball team until his sophomore year. Skenes enjoyed a productive freshman season that saw him become Collegiate Baseball National Co-Freshman of the Year. He tallied a 2.96 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 85.2 innings during his second year.
Furthermore, he also had a batting average of .314 with 10 doubles, 13 home runs, and 38 RBIs. After his sophomore year, Skenes earned a string of awards, including Mountain West Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year and the John Olerud Award. He was also named First Team All-American.
Paul Skenes transfers to LSU
After two years with Air Force, Skenes transferred to LSU. While playing for the Tigers, Paul Skenes further boosted his stock. In his first and only season with LSU, Skenes finished with a 1.69 ERA to go along with 209 strikeouts, which was enough to shatter the school record.
But more importantly, Skenes played an instrumental role in leading the Tigers to a championship victory at the Men's College World Series in 2023. For Skenes' efforts, he earned the Dick Howser Trophy, College World Series Most Outstanding Player, and National Pitcher of the Year Award.
Paul Skenes is drafted by the Pirates
After three years of college baseball, Skenes declared for the 2023 MLB Draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected the LSU star pitcher in the first round with the first overall pick.
Shortly after, he signed a lucrative deal with the Pirates that contained a signing bonus worth $9.2 million. As per ESPN, the $9.2 million deal is enough to become the most lucrative rookie deal in MLB history, breaking the previous record set by Spencer Torkelson back in 2020.
To hone his skills further, the Pirates assigned the top pick of the 2023 MLB Draft to play for the Florida Complex League Pirates. A few days later, the Pirates sent Skenes to the Bradenton Marauders, the affiliate of Single-A.
Paul Skenes makes his professional baseball debut
In his debut with the Marauders, Skenes struck out a pair of batters in a 16-pitch scoreless inning. Furthermore, he also threw 11 pitches for strikes to help his team secure a 14-13 win at the expense of the Lakeland Flying Tigers. In fact, the National Pitcher of the Year winner was quite satisfied with his performance.
According to MLB, Skenes said after the game, “It's getting back on the mound after a month-and-a-half off. I've been throwing the whole time, but you can't replace the adrenaline and the fans and with a hitter in the box.
“You can't replace that in the bullpen, so sometimes you don't know exactly what you're going to get just because your body moves different. Your body moves faster when there are those factors in there. So I was really happy with my ability to command it today, especially for it being so early.”
The Pirates limited Skenes to just 7 2/3 innings after carrying the load for LSU en route to winning the CWS. In 2024, the Pirates assigned Skenes to AAA Indianapolis, where he started seven games and had a 0.99 ERA but averaged fewer than four innings a start. He had 45 strikeouts and just eight walks and one home run allowed in 27 1/3 innings.
The Pirates saw enough from Skenes to believe he was ready for The Show. They announced that Skenes will be making his MLB debut on Saturday, May 11, against the Chicago Cubs in a home game.
Paul Skenes' relationship with Olivia Dunne
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In the past, Dunne has revealed the qualities of her ideal partner, per firstsportz.com. Fast forward to today, it seems like Skenes has fit the bill.
Given that Dunne and Skenes both attended LSU, it isn't surprising two actually first met at the university.
As of late, Dunne has been posting on social media featuring the budding baseball star. In fact, the gymnastics and social media star certainly got the attention of baseball fans when she was wearing Skenes' jersey while supporting him in his debut with the Bradenton Marauders against the Lakeland Flying Tigers.
With Skenes and the Marauders coming away with the victory, it's interesting to see if Dunne's presence played a role in Skenes' Single-A debut outing.
In August 2023, Skenes confirmed in an interview that he was in a relationship with Dunne.
Nevertheless, this is all the information that we have on Olivia Dunne's rumored boyfriend Paul Skenes.
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