Is a Rutgers athlete the next Olivia Dunne? Outkick thinks so

Riley Tiernan is poised to be the next Olivia Dunne.

Move over Olivia Dunne, Rutgers women’s soccer player Riley Tiernan is poised to be the next breakthrough college athlete of social media.

Now, Tiernan has a long way to go to get to the level of Dunne, a gymnast for LSU who is an absolute juggernaut on social media. But it is clear that Tiernan, a junior forward at Rutgers, is trending in the right direction.

On TikTok for instance, Tiernan is closing in on 125,000 followers. The variety of her Tiks (or are they Toks?) are pretty typical college stuff, from dancing with friends to downtime activities and the usual things that this generation does when bored.

She also has 37,000 followers on Instagram. On the social media platform, she clearly has taken a more polished approach to her posts as of late, several of which include name, image and likeness (NIL) posts (such as for Atlantic Physical Therapy Center in Manasquan, N.J.).

For comparison, the Rutgers men’s basketball program has 42,000 followers on Instagram, which is a strong number. What Tiernan has tapped into on social media is pretty crazy.

What this content means for Tiernan is the opportunity to cash in on her social media presence with financial opportunities.

As Outtkick notes, Tiernan recently signed an (NIL) deal with Adidas.

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But what really stood out from Outkick in all of this, is that the sports, news and lifestyle website believes Tiernan’s marketability on social media is ready to take off:

“Rutgers soccer star Riley Tiernan appears to be the latest challenger to Olivia Dunne for the 2023-24 season, and it’s shaping up to be a battle for the ages.

“Big Ten vs. SEC? I mean, it’s sort of what college athletics are barreling towards anyway after this season. Might as well start now!”

This of course is all made possible by her ability on the field. Last season as a sophomore, Tiernan was an All-Big Ten selection and made the watchlist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, given out to the best men’s and women’s players in college soccer.

She also was an All-Academic Big Ten selection, underscoring the work that she also gets done in the classroom.

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Paul Skenes makes Olivia Dunne relationship official, dives into handling all the social media attention

They’re officially official.

We probably didn’t need officially official confirmation that LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne and ex-Tiger Paul Skenes are dating. After all, the clues were there before we saw Dunne watching Skenes pitch in person.

But, here you go: It’s officially official!

The Pittsburgh Pirates prospect spoke at length about the relationship with Dunne and the challenges that come along with the attention on both of them.

“It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, to be honest, in terms of actually going somewhere, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “If one of us went out in Baton Rouge [La.] by ourselves, there’s probably gonna be someone there asking for something — picture, autograph, whatever.”

“It’s nice to be able to have that conversation,” he added. “She does get it. I do wish she could come to a baseball game and just enjoy it. It does irk me. I don’t have any control over it. She really doesn’t either. I’m sure it’ll get better as I go up levels, but that’s something I want for her.”

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Olivia Dunne appeared to be rooting on boyfriend (?) Paul Skenes in person in latest minor league start

Does this mean they’re dating?

Paul Skenes — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft — continues to throw triple digits for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor-league team in Bradenton, and the rumors about him dating LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne are also heating up.

There were clues on her Instagram posts that fans picked apart, but this is a lot more concrete: In his last start, a camera spotted her — or someone who looked JUST like her — cheering for Skenes.

Very cute! Does this mean they’re dating? We don’t have official confirmation yet, but maybe we’ll get Instagram officialness soon. Here’s the video that includes a cameo from Dunne:

Are Olivia Dunne and Pirates No. 1 pick Paul Skenes dating? Rumors are flying

Is Olivia Dunne dating Paul Skenes? That could be the case.

It’s time for a round of: Are they dating?

We don’t have a full answer here for LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne — you’ll remember her for the Livvy rizzed up Baby Gronk meme — and Pittsburgh Pirates No. 1 draft pick, pitcher Paul Skenes, who also went to LSU.

But there are little things fans are wondering about. Like the time she wore a Pirates hat and said she was in Bradenton, where a Pirates’ minor league team is located. Oh, and Skenes just made his debut … for Bradenton.

And the glove that was on the table behind here in another photo? It might belong to Skenes:

Hmm. We’ll wait for them to become Instagram official if that’s the case.

The Livvy rizzed up Baby Gronk meme, explained

What is this TikTok trend and meme? We explain it all.

In a world where more and more of the content we see is being created by AI, we bold internet explorers frequently find ourselves encountering surreal images and phrases that dip into the uncanny valley.

One minute you’re watching a fun video of a puppy becoming friends with a kitten and the next you’re watching … well, what you’re about to see might be VERY weird to you.

It’s all about a phrase you might have seen all around the interwebs: Livvy rizzed up Baby Gronk. It’s currently all over TikTok, Twitter, you name it.

And it’s on videos like this one:

I’ll give you a moment to mentally recover from what you’ve just seen.

Feeling better? OK, let’s try and make some sense of what we just saw.

Firstly, we need to do some translation for those of us who don’t spend a lot of time on TikTok. Rizz, according to our friends at USA Today, is defined as “a slang term often used to describe someone’s ability to flirt and be charming, especially for their verbal communication while pursuing a romantic interest.”

The video explains who Baby Gronk is: he’s a young football player named Madden San Miguel who has a huge social media following.

But what about Livvy? That would be LSU gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne. She didn’t literally flirt with Baby Gronk. But they did meet in a video posted this week and maybe that means he’ll want to be a Tiger.

If you were confused before that explanation, don’t worry — so was everyone else. The video seemed to trigger mass confusion on the internet and led to a series of hilarious memes.

There you have it.

Women’s sports becoming a key part of LSU’s athletic identity

With a national title in women’s basketball and a growing interest in the gymnastics and softball programs, LSU is becoming the place to be for women’s sports.

With the LSU women taking the basketball national championship a few weeks ago, the softball success and the growing attention to gymnastics, attendance is skyrocketing for women’s sports at LSU.

As we’ve all seen, basketball superstar [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] has taken the national spotlight. She’s been on multiple sports shows including “NBA Today,” “SportsCenter” and “Get Up.” Gymnastics star [autotag]Olivia Dunne[/autotag] is currently the third-most valuable college athlete in the country per On3, landing multiple huge NIL deals including American Eagle and Forever 21.

LSU has arguably become the place to be for women’s athletics, and it doesn’t look like that will end any time soon. Women’s basketball coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] has produced a top recruiting class in the country, Tiger softball is currently ranked No. 12 in the country with attendance numbers up significantly in 2023, and the gymnastics team just finished fourth in the NCAA finals.

We are just scratching the surface of what could be for women’s athletics at LSU, and the Tigers brand has become increasingly valuable to women across the country.

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Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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Angel Reese signs new NIL deal with AI company

Reese continues to rack up the NIL deals since leading LSU to a national title.

[autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] has seen her platform surge since leading LSU’s women’s basketball team to its first national championship earlier this month.

She now has 1.6 million followers on Instagram, and she’s inked several new name, image and likeness deals since the conclusion of the season. She’s now added another to her portfolio, as she announced that she’s partnering with Caktus AI.

“We’re in a new era where women are cultural drivers, builders and power players,” Reese said in a video ad posted across social media platforms. “Our actions now will empower the next generation. We control this revolution and our reclaiming our place in the $16 billion industry we helped build. Progress is contagious; naysayers have no choice but to accept this new path.

“The days of underexposure, underinvestment and underrepresentation are over. We push boundaries and the world takes notice. This is only the beginning.”

Caktus is a company that has made a name for itself in the NIL space already, making deals with several college stars including LSU gymnast [autotag]Olivia Dunne[/autotag] and Miami’s Cavinder twins.

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Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

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