Jan Paul van Hecke (born 8 June 2000) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Netherlands national team.

[11] Van Hecke scored his first goal for Blackburn and in English football, doubling Rovers' lead with a powerful header in the 2–0 away win at second placed AFC Bournemouth on 11 December, closing the gap to four points to their promotion rivals.

[13] Van Hecke made his debut for Brighton on 24 August 2022, helping keep a clean sheet in the 3–0 away victory over League One side Forest Green Rovers in the EFL Cup second round.

[14] Three days later, he made his Premier League debut, coming on as a 88th minute substitute for Danny Welbeck and helped secure Brighton's 1–0 lead over Leeds to take all three points at Falmer Stadium.

[23] On 16 August 2024, Van Hecke was named in the 35-man provisional Netherlands squad for the Nations League ties against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany alongside Brighton teammates Bart Verbruggen and Mats Wieffer.