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This year's crop includes a rodeo clown and cosplay artist

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1 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Megan Lowder

Age: 28
Hometown: Cathedral City, Calif.
Current City: Phoenix, Ariz.
Occupation: Dog Walker
How being a superfan will help her:I know what a Veto is, so...

Her strategy: I'm trying to stay very low-key in the beginning because I don't want that first week target on my back. And then I plan on smiling to people's faces and stabbing them in the back. I'm bloodthirsty.

Whether she's worried about how she'll be perceived:I hope America, if they hate me, they love to hate me. And if they love me, they love me. But in the end, I'm here for $500,000, not fame or fortune.

What comps will be her strong suit:Definitely the mental comps. I'm a very mental person. And you know how they always have that one where you count for an hour and you have to stop before an hour? I literally practiced this. I counted how many times it takes me to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" to fill an hour. It takes 47 times because I sing it very, very slow because you want it to be the same rhythm, keep the same pace. If it's very slow, 47 times and I'm done in an hour.

2 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Mark Jansen

Age: 25
Hometown: Grand Island, N.Y.
Current City: Grand Island, N.Y.
Occupation: Personal Trainer
The chances he'll enter a showmance: The way I'm thinking about it, they're very high. But again, it all depends on the girls in the house. [Showmances] definitely hurt. I guess it could help in a way if you can align yourself with the right girl. I guess it'll all depend how I am in the house with different girls.

The player he wants to emulate:Cody and Derrick. How smooth their season went is mind blowing. They were never a threat to go home. It was just crazy how it worked out for them. I'm more Cody in a way. Cody played a perfect game -- obviously not perfect because he didn't win. But the way he was with the girls -- no showmances, but he was comfortable with all of them, cuddling and just made all of them smile. He had a very good social game. Cody played a hell of a game.

What comps will be his strong suit:Endurance, numbers. I'm great with numbers, which is going to shock people. The memory ones I'm a little concerned with.

3 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Christmas Abbott

Age: 35
Hometown: Lynchburg, Va.
Current City: Raleigh, N.C.
Occupation: Fitness Superstar
The chances she'll enter a showmance:I'm not opposed to it, but I'm here to play Big Brother. I'm here to win $500,000. And if the showmance helps my game and I like the person, then I'm not opposed to it. But I'm not coming in looking for a takeaway honey.

Whether she's willing to play dirty:I have really, really concrete core values and I'm not big on lying and scheming. I'm big on listening and suggesting. Just because you win Big Brother doesn't mean you have to lie. It just means that maybe you don't admit all of the truth. Or what we call southern hospitality, where we have a way of persuasion, and especially being a female, we can get you to do something we want you to do and get you to think it's your idea. So that's more of my strategy versus flat-out lying. If you flat-out lie in Big Brother, usually you get busted and usually you lose all the credibility you built up.

Whether she's worried about how she'll be perceived:Not that I'm not worried about it, but I'm not going to allow that perception to dictate my game. I'm going to make sure the end result is aligned with my core values and that's important to me. But you know everybody's a villain at some point in Big Brother, so you can't win without some blood on your hands.

4 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Jason Dent

Age: 37
Hometown: Humeston, Iowa
Current City: Humeston, Iowa
Occupation: Rodeo Clown
How not being very familiar with Big Brother will help him: I honestly believe that [the other houseguests are] going to use scenarios that they've seen. This is all brand new. Every season's different, right? I feel like it's a case-sensitive type thing. So I don't have any background to compare it to so I'm just going to have to use my head and my surroundings and I feel like that's probably better anyways.

Whether he's willing to play dirty:It's going to have to happen. I mean, it has to happen. I'm on a show. I'm not a big fan of lying and scheming in my profession. Those are terrible, terrible things to do. But I'm not in my profession right now. I'm on a show.

What comps will be his strong suit:Maybe the mental and the physical, but the endurance ones -- I'm tall. Standing for four hours or having to hang, it's tough! I feel like those endurance ones will be my hardest.

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5 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Jillian Parker

Age: 24
Hometown: Celebration, Fla.
Current City: Las Vegas, Nev.
Occupation: Timeshare Sales Rep
Why she applied:I went through a big transformation. I lost, like, 50 pounds. Otherwise, I never would have applied. I just thought now that I lost weight and stuff, I'll just take a chance and apply, and so I did and now here I am.

What player she wants to emulate:I don't know if I'll be like her, but I do like Rachel. Because Rachel, she not only says how she feels, but she backs it up and schools the people with the challenges, which I thought was really admirable. Even though people thought she was really annoying and stuff, she schooled them and so she put them in their place.

What comps will be her strong suit: I think that I'll do good in the memory ones because I actually have a pretty good memory. And the smelling. I've been practicing the smelling.

6 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Kevin Schlehuber

Age: 55
Hometown: Boston, Mass.
Current City: Boston, Mass.
Occupation: Stay-at-home Dad
His strategy:I was going to be nice to everyone. I didn't want to be aggressive. You don't want to be aggressive. I'm just going to be myself, I guess. That's the only option you have. Then when you finish, if you don't win, you can at least say, well I was being myself.

Whether he's concerned about how he'll be perceived:No, not at all. [My daughters] want me to win. They were screaming that... You don't know you're going [to be on the show] until 10 minutes before they say you got to go. I was like, what? So then my daughter's were yelling, you've got to keep your head on winning the show! You've got to do what you have to do! You just want to win! That's the whole point of coming here, to win.

7 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Dominique Cooper

Age: 30
Hometown: Tuskegee, Ala.
Current City: Woodbridge, Va.
Occupation: Government Engineer
The chances she'll enter a showmance:Zero chances! Zero chances I'll end up in a showmance. I'm coming to win money. I don't need to be distracted by a showmance. But you know, god has a sense of humor, so we'll see what happens.

Whether she's willing to play dirty:I don't believe you have to do it. I'm going to try my absolute best not to try to get involved with any lying or scheming to win the game. I want to go and show that you can do it the right way.

What comps will be her strong suit:I would say probably the mental competitions more so than anything because I like anything that will challenge the way that I think, the way that my mind processes things. Although, I am a really strong physical competitor. I used to lift weights at one point in my life. Not too long ago actually.

8 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Cameron Heard

Age: 24
Hometown: North Aurora, Ill.
Current City: Woodridge, Ill.
Occupation: Microbiologist
How being a superfan will help him: I'll know what competitions are coming up. I'll now how to maneuver throughout the house. I'm really good strategically. I was ranked 32 in Halo Wars, which is a strategy game. I'm in the masters' league in StarCraft, which is another strategy game. Recently, I played another 1,500 games of chess just to beat my dad. I'm really good strategically and knowing aboutBig Brother and how the game works will help me strategically move myself forward throughout the game.

What player he wants to emulate:I would like to be like Ian in the Quack Pack. He was not the number one guy in the Quack Pack. He was number four or whatever, but he wasn't the bottom guy. Basically, I want to be like Ian that respect, but I think I'm better than Ian. I'm more social than Ian. I'm going to win more competitions than Ian. I'm a better version of him.

What comps will be his strong suit:Endurance competitions are going to be my strong suit because I do a lot of athletic things. I rode my bike from Chicago to Buffalo. That's 600 miles in 10 days where I got caught in the rain, I had dogs chase me, I went through the mountains a bit. I also snowboard a bit in Colorado. I hit double black diamonds, the trees, the moguls, etc. So yeah, I think endurance competitions will really suit me the best.

9 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Raven Walton

Age: 23
Hometown: DeValls Bluff, Ark.
Current City: DeValls Bluff, Ark.
Occupation: Dance Teacher
How being a superfan will help her:I'm not going to let the other contestants know that I'm a huge fan so I don't put a target on my back and they [don't] know I know a lot about the game. But I think it's going to help me pretty well in terms of the competitions and things.

Her strategy:I'm going to go in there open minded and I'm going to be very observant. I'm going to try and play a loyal game until someone's not loyal to me and then the sour patch will have to strike and then get them out the game.

What comps will be her strong suit:Endurance comps, I think I'm going to be pretty good at. You never know until you get in there but I'm an athlete, I'm a dancer so I think that's going to come to my advantage. People are going to look at me and think, "oh, she's so small." But I run all the time, I dance 24/7, so I'm mentally and physically prepared.

10 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Matthew Clines

Age: 33
Hometown: Arlington, Va.
Current City: Arlington, Va.
Occupation: Renovation Consultant
The chances he'll enter a showmance:I have not ruled it out. I'm open either way. It would certainly have to be strategic.

What player he wants to emulate:Derrick and Cody, obviously. They absolutely killed it. I'd definitely like to have an alliance of that nature if the right person is in the house to do that.

Whether he's willing to play dirty:I'm not much of a liar. That will not be a huge part of my game. I will probably play a very, very clean game for the most part.

11 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Elena Davies

Age: 26
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Current City: Dallas, Texas
Occupation: Radio Personality
What player she wants to emulate:If I had to compare my strategy to two former houseguests, I am picking Frankie and Derrick from Season 16. They have a lot of good qualities. With Frankie, his social game was incredible. He made friends. He made his house fun. Even when he put people on the block, they forgave him so quickly because he was so likable. And with Derrick, he did that same thing where he made a lot of big moves without houseguests realizing it was him. He was manipulative and strategic. He did a lot of behind the scenes work. And they both lied about what they did for a living, which I'm also going to do.

Why she plans to lie about her job: I'm going to say I work in radio, which is absolutely true. I've done a lot of different things in radio. I've played a lot of roles. [I won't say] I've been an on-air radio personality because I don't want the other houseguest to think that I have got this giant fan base back home. I don't want that to put a target on my back for whatever reason it might. It might not. They might think it's really cool or they might not have an opinion on it at all or they might think it's really lame. But they could probably think all those things about the rest of my radio job I do. And I won't risk the target.

The chances she'll enter a showmance: I don't know. I'm so torn. I've been against showmances for the longest but my mom has really been pushing it. She wants me to have a boyfriend and I'm like, I want to have $500,000. I can probably find a boyfriend easier once I have $500,000. But if there's a guy in there that can make me laugh, it's something to pass the time, I guess. And it's always an alliance. There's pros and cons to a showmance. You want somebody who always has your back, but if the showmance puts a target on your back, are you doing yourself any favors?

12 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Cody Nickson

Age: 32
Hometown: Lake Mills, Iowa.
Current City: Plano, Texas
Occupation: Construction Sales Rep
His strategy:I'm going to try and win that first HOH. So if I win it, it opens up a line of communication with everybody else in the house. Hopefully I can be like the team captain that pulls in the strong ones after that.

What comps will be his strong suit:Hopefully endurance. If I don't get first place in every endurance competition, I would feel like a loser. I hope [I do]. If I screw that up, I might as well pack my stuff up and walk out the door.

The chances he'll enter a showmance:I would say very little to none. Depends on how much of an outsider I'll be if I get in one. So if I get into a showmance that makes me an outsider than no, absolutely not.

13 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Alex Ow

Age: 28
Hometown: Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Current City: Camarillo, Calif.
Occupation: Eco-Friendly Marketing Rep
Her strategy:I have an idea of what I want to do, which is probably align myself with some of the stronger players, usually a guy, because their alliances tend to make it to the end of the season. But also it's case-by-case. If I hate everyone in the house, it's not going to be a good strategy.

What player she doesn't want to emulate: A player I don't like out of the whole franchise was Frank last season because he was getting in trouble for smacking peoples' butts. I don't like stuff like that. I don't like people are disrespectful. That's the only person I'm not really chill with.

Whether she's worried about how she'll be perceived: My family knows me and so they know that yeah, I'm cute and sweet, but they also know that when I get irritated or when I'm mad about something, I will bring the big guns out. I will do anything. And I'm pretty stubborn too, so I'll stick to my guns on certain stuff.

14 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Josh Martinez

Age: 23
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
Current City: Homestead, Fla.
Occupation: Hair Care Sales
The chances he'll enter a showmance:Honestly, I've been in sequester for a week. I need a hug, a cuddle, a kiss -- I need some affection. I need a girl to f---ing give me some love. I'm not looking for it at all. But I think if it happens, you can't stop attraction towards someone. It just happens. But if I could keep it low, it would be good for my game.

What player he doesn't want to emulate: Vanessa. I think Vanessa played a great game, but I think she was too emotional and all that, even though I'm an emotional guy. So I'm going to contradict myself on that.

Whether he's willing to play dirty: I'm doing it all: lying, scheming. If my showmance has to go out the door, my closest ally -- when the time presents itself, if they're not good for my game, you're going out and I'm lying 'til the end. Stone cold, baby. Cold-hearted. That's the only way. This is my view on it. Business is business. Personal is personal. I'm going on a business trip and I'm here to win.

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Jessica Graf

Age: 26
Hometown: Cranston, R.I.
Current City: Los Angeles
Occupation: VIP Concierge
Her strategy:I have a social strategy. I want to be everybody's best friend. I don't want to create any enemies in the house. If anything, I'll be more of a puppeteer character than someone who is in your face and causing drama.

The chances she'll enter a showmance:I'm trying to avoid a showmance with all my heart. So unless the casting directors played cupid and put Mr. Perfect in the house for me then I'm not participating in a showmance because its going to distract me from the game and it's going to put a target on both of our backs. If I meet somebody and I can hold out until the seasons over and I'm $500,000 richer, then I will try and do that.

Whether she's worried about how she'll be perceived: I think my mom is going to sit there and cheer me on no matter what. She knows that I'm not going to put my personal integrity in question, and I think she trusts me. So I'm not too worried about it.

16 of 16 Bill Inoshita/CBS

Ramses Soto

Age: 21
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Current City: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Occupation: Cosplay Artist
The chances he'll enter a showmance:I don't want to be in a showmance. I feel like with the last season that had three showmances get to the end, that's going to be a really big target in seasons to come. And since this is the next season to come, that's going to be something that people are going to look forward to to get people out.

The player he doesn't want to emulate:I don't want to be like a Victoria. I don't want to be a floater. I don't want to be anyone who's too under the radar to the point where they're not playing the game. I want to play the game. As a superfan, I want to go in there and show people that I'm here to play because I love this game.

The comp he's most looking forward to:I want to play OTEV so bad. Oh my gosh, if I don't play OTEV, I feel like I'm going to cry. Honestly, I've had nightmares of myself being in the Big Brother house and not being in the OTEV competition because its such a dream of mine. So I need to play OTEV.