Washington Nationals: Bryce Harper Tied Knot With Longtime Girlfriend

The worst year of Bryce Harper’s career ended on a high note with his marriage to his high school sweetheart, Kayla Varner.

After dating for over five years, major league superstar Bryce Harper tied the knot with Kayla Varner over the weekend. While Harper attended Las Vegas High School, he met and began dating Varner, who attended Green Valley High School. Prior to graduating in 2011, the Washington Nationals selected Harper first overall in the 2010 draft. Meanwhile, his bride went on to play soccer BYU and Ohio State.

Prior to calling off their first attempt at marriage, the couple initially announced their wedding plans in 2015. However, after Harper won a pair of ESPY Awards in 2016, Varner announced their second engagement.

“The sequel”, which Varner fondly coined their second engagement, took place over the weekend at the San Diego Mormon Temple. Despite the temple limiting their audience to Mormons only, the suspected small ceremony featured teammates Jayson Werth, Trea Turner and general manager Mike Rizzo.

Following up his NL MVP season, Harper’s batting average drastically dropped in his 2016 campaign. Prior to last season, Harper’s batting average never finished below .270 and topped out at .330 in 2015. For whatever reason, his batting average dropped to .243 by the end of last season. Yet, he managed to put up career highs with 21 stolen bases while driving in 86 and hitting 24 homers. Even in the middle of his slump, the Chicago Cubs acknowledged his threat at the dish by walking him 13 times through a four-game series.

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Regardless, the future is bright for the emerging superstar. On top of marrying his high school sweetheart, Harper’s talent will inevitably bring him future success. Whether with the Nationals in the next two seasons or another team after 2019, Harper is bound for greatness.