'The Bachelor' star Clayton Echard's bachelorettes officially announced by ABC -- Meet Clayton's women! (PHOTOS)

The Bachelor has unveiled the official cast of 31 women who will be vying for Clayton Echard's roses when the show returns with Season 26 next year.


ABC has announced the identities of the 31 bachelorettes who will meet and date Clayton, a 28-year-old orthopedic sales representative and former college football player, when The Bachelor's 26th season premieres Monday, January 3 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

Clayton's cast of women range in age from 23 to 32 years old and include a pediatric nurse, a bar mitzvah dancer, an architectural historian and a former Olympian.

And one woman, Salley Carson, is noticeably listed as "previously engaged."


ABC initially released a cast of 33 potential bachelorettes for The Bachelor 26 back in late September, and the network just revealed its final set of names, bios and photos for 31 women on its official The Bachelor page.

It appears Breauna Jade Kading, a 28-year-old from San Diego, CA, and Kara Gandy, a 30-year-old from Cincinnati, OH, were dropped from Clayton's official lineup of Night 1 ladies.

ABC began its current practice of publicly announcing each The Bachelor and The Bachelorette season's possible cast in 2019 as an apparent attempt to further vet each suitor's background before filming actually commences.

Beginning last year with Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette, they also began bringing extra potential bachelors to the season's filming location in case anyone tests positive for coronavirus during the quarantine period that must occur before production officially starts.

Clayton was officially announced as The Bachelor star for Season 26 in late November.


"I'm a Midwest boy from New Jersey that just wants to find love, and I can't wait to get married and have kids," Clayton says in a trailer for the new season.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  

And Clayton confirmed on Good Morning America just one day after ABC's big announcement that he "did find love" on the show.

"And I was a little skeptical going into the whole journey, but I'm so pleasantly surprised that things worked out much different than what I had thought."

Clayton shared how he went into The Bachelor with "a checklist of sorts" in that he wanted to find a partner who is "funny, intelligent, driven, [and] put forth effort."


"What I found is very quickly the women blew my expectations out of the water. They brought all of that and so much more," Clayton teased on GMA, adding, "I realized that, ultimately, I was going to find everything that I wanted and so much more."

Clayton certainly did apparently find everything he was looking for -- in more than one woman.

During The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All episode for Season 18, a special sneak peek of Clayton's upcoming The Bachelor season aired and featured Clayton dropping two bombshells on viewers.

"I didn't believe it could happen, but I am in love with three women," Clayton admits.

Footage then seemed to flash to Clayton standing in front of two ladies, who appeared to be either his Final 2 bachelorettes or two of his Final 3 women, after his round of overnight Fantasy Suite dates.


"I just want you to know that what I'm about to say is not going to be easy to hear. I want to be fully, fully transparent, and I know it's not easy to hear, but I was intimate with both of you," Clayton confesses to the two ladies.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

A brunette woman cries, "I'm done," while walking away from The Bachelor star and then falling to her knees. "What the actual f-ck?!"

And a bachelorette with long blonde hair sobs in her hands, "I've never felt anything like this before."

A mystery woman then laments, "He's in love with all three of us?!"


The drama apparently leaves Colton feeling "so broken" as he stares at a diamond engagement ring, seemingly unsure of whom to give it to.

Clayton was eliminated by Michelle Young before hometown dates on The Bachelorette, when the Season 18 star was selecting her Final 4 bachelors.

Following his ouster, Clayton cried about how he wants a wife, kids and a family "more than anything" and he'd do whatever it takes to make that dream come true.

Below is a listing of the 31 women who will be competing on Clayton's season of The Bachelor, however click on the BEGIN GALLERY link below to also see photos of all the bachelorettes!

- Cassidy Timbrooks, a 26-year-old executive assistant from Los Angeles, CA

- Claire Heilig, a 28-year-old spray tanner from Virginia Beach, VA


- Daria Rose, a 24-year-old law student from Baldwin, NY

- Eliza Isichei, a 25-year-old marketing manager from Berlin, Germany

- Elizabeth Corrigan, a 32-year-old real estate advisor from Highlands Ranch, CO

- Ency Abedin, a 26-year-old sales manager from Burbank, CA

- Gabby Windey, a 30-year-old ICU nurse from Denver, CO

- Genevieve Parisi, a 26-year-old bartender from Los Angeles, CA


- Hailey Malles, a 26-year-old pediatric nurse from Orlando, FL

- Hunter Haag, a 28-year-old human resources specialist from Charlotte, NC

- Ivana Noble, a 31-year-old bar mitzvah dancer from Queens, NY

- Jane Paik, a 33-year-old social media director from Los Angeles, CA

- Jill Chin, a 26-year-old architectural historian from Scituate, RI

- Kate Gallivan, a 32-year-old real estate agent from Lake Hollywood, CA


- Kira Mengistu, a 32-year-old physician from Philadelphia, PA

- Lindsay Dobbs, a 27-year-old neonatal nurse from Jacksonville, FL

- Lyndsey Windham, a 28-year-old industrial sales representative from Houston, TX

- Mara Agreat, a 32-year-old entrepreneur from Collingswood, NJ

- Marlena Wesh, a 30-year-old former Olympian from Virginia Beach, VA

- Melina Nasab, a 27-year-old personal trainer from West Hollywood, CA


- Rachel Recchia, a 25-year-old flight instructor from Clermont, FL

- Rianna Hockaday, a 26-year-old registered nurse from Dallas, TX

- Salley Carson, a 26-year-old previously-engaged spine surgery robot operator from Charlottesville, VA

- Samantha Jefferies, a 26-year-old occupational therapist from San Diego, CA

- Sarah Hamrick, a 23-year-old wealth management advisor from New York City, NY

- Serene Russell, a 26-year-old elementary school teacher from Oklahoma City, OK


- Shanae Ankney, a 29-year-old recruiter from Sycamore, OH

- Sierra Jackson, a 26-year-old yoga instructor from Dallas, TX

- Susie Evans, a 28-year-old wedding videographer from Virginia Beach, VA

- Teddi Wright, a 24-year-old surgical unit nurse from Highland, CA

- Tessa Tookes, a 26-year-old human resources specialist from Stamford, C

BEGIN GALLERY >>

About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski