Bryce Harper helps New Jersey high school student land prom date
Bryce Harper never went to prom at Las Vegas High, as he left following his sophomore year.
But the Philadelphia Phillies slugger made sure a New Jersey high school student had a date for his prom next month.
Jake Portello, a senior at Haddonfield Memorial High School, told “The Phantastic Sports Show” on Monday night that he lives in the same neighborhood as Harper and went to his house hoping for assistance asking out a classmate.
“I knocked on his door, he seemed cool with it at first, then he was like, ‘Can I get your email so we can plan this out?’” Portello told the show. “And as I was leaving, he was like, ‘Why don’t we do this right now?’”
A video that went viral shows Harper and Portello standing on the front porch as Giulia answers the door and Harper tells her, “Jake wants to ask you to prom, so I thought I’d help him out.”
He got Bryce Harper to help ask a girl to prom 😭💚
(via jportella10/IG) pic.twitter.com/YesGpP66dG
— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2024
After saying yes, a stunned Giulia gave Harper a hug and told him, “Oh, my god, you’re the GOAT.” She then turned to her prom date.
“I eventually got the hug, so we’re happy about that,” Portello said on the show. “It makes sense, you know. Bryce is a pretty cool guy and a pretty popular guy around the area.”
In 2016, a fan at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park brought a sign asking Harper to her prom. Harper, who was 22 at the time, politely declined and gave her an autographed baseball with the message, “I hope you have a blast & enjoy it. … Many blessings.”
The Haddonfield prom is scheduled for June 14 when the first-place Phillies are set to play at Baltimore.
“I wasn’t expecting this, I thought it’d be something cool among my friends and people in my town and stuff,” Portella said. “I didn’t even expect (Harper) to open the door in the first place.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.