Filipina American renowned model Kelsey Merritt is spreading her wings even higher as she just became the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Rookie. Last year, Kelsey became the first ever Filipina-American to walk the Victoria Secrets Fashion Show. The 22-year-old stunner announced the big news on her social media and has been sharing sneak peeks from the shoots over the weekend with her 1.3 million followers.

Shot in the Bahamas, Kelsey shared the surprise with her fans captioned, “I’ve been keeping this a secret for a while, and now I’m so excited I get to finally share with you all that I’m the newest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2019 Rookie!!! Ahhh, thank you for the opportunity to shoot for this iconic issue!”

Kelsey also shared that she was able to spend some time exploring the location of her rookie shoot by living her ‘best mermaid fantasy’ while scuba diving in Thunderball Grotto, an underwater cave system in Exuma Cays.

The cover will be coming out in May as Kelsey shared on her social media. From being a small-town girl growing up in Pampanga to graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), Kelsey has been achieving her dreams after her big move to New York City.

Here are a few previews from the shoot which have left people wanting for more –