All American is a popular teen drama series on The CW that follows the life of Spencer James, a talented football player from South Crenshaw who transfers to Beverly Hills High School to pursue his dreams. But along the way, he faces many challenges and secrets, including his possible connection to Coach Billy Baker, the man who recruited him to play for Beverly. Is Spencer related to Coach Baker? And how does this affect his relationships with the Baker family and his own? Here’s what we know so far.
The Truth About Spencer’s Parentage
In the first season of All American, Spencer is recruited to play football for Beverly Hills High School by Coach Billy Baker, who also grew up in Spencer’s Los Angeles neighborhood. Coach Baker and Spencer’s mom, Grace, were teenage sweethearts, and it was Grace who pushed for Spencer to go to Beverly. However, some fans suspected that Grace’s motives may have more to do with Coach Baker than the opportunities at a better-funded school. Spencer’s dad, Corey, left the family when Spencer was a kid, and Spencer is still reeling from that abandonment. Given the romantic history between Grace and Coach Baker, some fans wondered if Coach Baker could be Spencer’s real father.
However, midway through the season, Grace and Coach Baker vehemently deny it’s even a possibility that Spencer isn’t Corey’s son, or that he could ever be Coach Baker’s. It seemed, at the time, that this fan theory is totally squashed, and that the one-time romance between Grace and Coach Baker was simply a red herring.
Yet All American had another plot twist in store. It turns out that the reason Corey left in the first place — giving Spencer a ton of issues in the process — did have everything to do with Coach Baker. Grace and Coach Baker may not have gotten together to create Spencer, but the two did rekindle their high school affair — for one night only. Corey left because Corey doesn’t know if Spencer’s younger brother Dillon is his biological son, or the biological child of Coach Baker.
Though the truth is not definitively revealed about Dillon’s parentage, the revelation is enough to totally blow up the Baker family.
The Consequences of The Secret
So, what does this mean for Spencer going into season 2? For one thing, if Coach Baker is Dillon’s biological dad, it means that he will share a sibling with Baker kids Olivia and Jordan. Given Olivia’s sometimes-crush on Spencer, and Jordan’s perpetual rivalry with the teen who has so much of his dad’s attention, this can only spell drama.
If Dillon is related to both Spencer and the Bakers, All American will hardly be the first teen drama to pull this plot twist. Dan and Serena share a brother on Gossip Girl, as do Spencer and Alison on Pretty Little Liars.
Keep your fingers crossed for a season 2 renewal: All American needs to show us the fallout of this bombshell revelation.
