AFL Draft 2024: Where 75 of the top prospects attended school

If you want your kid to play AFL, send them to these schools. Check out the data that shows where the top draft prospects are coming from in 2024.

They are the school footy factories which have produced this year’s crop of aspiring AFL stars.

These are 75 of the top draft prospects – and where they got their education.

Some — such as first-round locks Jagga Smith and Isaac Kako — finished high school in 2023 and have begun university degrees this year.

However, most are still finishing exams as the AFL national draft quickly approaches.

Brighton Grammar — which competes in Victoria’s Associated Public Schools (APS) competition — went unbeaten with a 10-0 record this season and looks set to have an unmatched number of draftees.

The Brighton Grammar side of 2024.

Levi Ashcroft playing for his school. Picture: Andrew Batsch

Levi Ashcroft, Luke Trainor and Harrison Oliver all shape as top-30 picks, while Josh Dolan, Lennox Hoffman and Bailey McKenzie are in mix to be picked up in the back half of the draft.

“Going 10-0 is something that’s pretty hard to do and a lot goes behind the scenes of it,” Trainor said.

“Even though we’ve got such a talented team, we nearly lost some games and it’s really hard work to win 10 games in a row.”

Previous Brighton Grammar draftees include Andrew McGrath, Josh Kelly, Christian Salem and Jack Watts.

Another school with a strong history of producing AFL players is St Patrick’s College in Ballarat.

It has been the breeding ground of 120 AFL/VFL players, including 2022 No. 1 draft pick Aaron Cadman, Richmond premiership star Daniel Rioli and former North Melbourne champion Drew Petrie.

This year, St Patrick’s College has four players firmly on the radars of recruiters, headlined by school captain Ollie Hannaford who has emerged as a top-30 hope.

Top-five draft prospect Finn O’Sullivan hails from the small town of Koroit in western Victoria but has been boarding at Xavier College for the past three years and lists the move as his biggest life achievement outside of football.

Finn O'Sullivan is the only top prospect from Xavier College. Picture: Getty Images

“Heading up to boarding school was a big stepping stone for me; something that I haven’t looked back on since,” O’Sullivan said.

“I’ve loved being up at boarding school and I’ve met countless mates who I’m really close with now.”

South Australian twins Ben and Lucas Camporeale have attended Sacred Heart College in Adelaide, where they have studied all of the same subjects this year.

“We’ve got the same subjects, but we’ve only got one class together,” Ben said.

“We’ve got business together, which is a bit of fun. But we try to stay out of each other’s pockets.”

The Camporeale brothers have both been nominated by Carlton as father-son prospects for the draft, being the sons of 1995 Blues premiership player Scott.

In Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, Jobe Shanahan used to see 2023 No. 1 draft pick Harley Reid around the schoolyard at St Joseph’s College in Echuca.

Another set of twins – Jack and Matt Whitlock – have also been studying the same subjects at Goulburn Valley Grammar School in Shepparton.

“We’ve always been pretty hard working in school and we’re at a pretty academic school,” Jack said.

Brownlow Medal winner Ollie Wines was a graduate of Goulburn Valley Grammar in 2012, while Clayton Oliver and Alex Keath are among other students from the school who have made it to the AFL.

What are the best schools for producing AFL players? Picture: Andrew Batsch

TOP SCHOOLS FOR 2024

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Originally published as AFL Draft 2024: Where 75 of the top prospects attended school