25 Darling Downs star athletes you must watch in 2025
From Toowoomba’s sporting fields to those around the world, we name the 25 Darling Downs young guns you must watch in 2025. Find out who made our list of star athletes.
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Toowoomba and the Darling Downs has always been a hotbed of sporting talent.
From state and national champions to professional stars and Olympians – some of Australia’s greatest athletes hail from the region.
Ahead of the 2025 sporting season we’ve identified 25 stars aged 23 and under that you must watch next year.
Georgia Voll, Cricket
Voll knows the Warrego Highway like the back of her hand – making the round trip from Toowoomba to Ipswich to play and train with Ipswich Logan Hornets countless times during her youth.
Her dedication paid off with Voll rapidly rising through the ranks from Brisbane grade talent to Queensland and Brisbane Heat star.
Switching Brisbane Heat teal for Sydney Thunder green this season has paid off.
Replacing injured Aussie skipper Alyssa Healy, Voll scored 101 off 87 balls in just her second international match.
Jem Ryan, Cricket
In a different life Jem Ryan could be playing in the AFL.
Jem briefly trialled with Richmond Tigers, the club that drafted his brother Samson in 2020, but his true sporting love, cricket, ultimately won out.
After carving up his GPS rivals in his final year of schooling at Toowoomba Grammar in 2022, he backed up with a great Brisbane Premier Grade season.
His efforts were rewarded with Queensland Cricket rookie contract ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Lucy Bourke, Cricket
One of several young Darling Downs female cricket talents, Warwick’s Lucy Bourke is going from strength to strength in her quest to make it at the elite level.
She featured heavily in the Brisbane Heat’s T20 Spring Challenge and is also a part of the Queensland Fire squad.
At just 19 the future is bright for the left-handed batter and it could only be a matter of time before she asserts herself in the WNCL and WBBL.
Millie Natalier, Basketball
Natalier is arguably the best basketball prospect Toowoomba has seen in years.
Lining up in the 2024 Under-16 Girls South Queensland Junior Basketball Competition Natalier was a force to be reckoned with averaging more than 30 points a game.
Her red hot form for the Toowoomba Mountaineers was rewarded with a chance to impress college scouts during a three-week Dunkaroos tour of the United States.
Zoe Christodoulou, Boxing
The talented young boxer is now a two-time Aussie champion.
Christodoulou, who won the 51-54kg division of the Australasia Amateur Boxing Titles earlier this year, recently added the Elite Female 51-54kg Australian Women’s Title to her trophy cabinet.
Chloe Pallisier, Rugby League
Pallisier is one of Toowoomba’s most promising rugby league talents in years.
Rapidly rising through the elite junior ranks she made her BMD Premiership debut against the Sunshine Coast Falcons in round 3 this season.
Pallisier made three senior appearances for the Western Clydesdales this season and her form did not go unnoticed.
Now the talented teen playmaker is headed south – taking up a deal with Penrith Panthers.
Elle de Nooyer, Downhill MTB
De Nooyer is a two-time Enduro National and Enduro Oceania champion who has an Oceania Downhill championship and multiple Top 10 World Cup finishes to her name.
Having represented Australia at the UCI Downhill World Championships she plans to compete more on the national and international stages in 2025.
Taleah Ackland, Rugby Union
Ackland is among a long list of Fairholme College alumni making their mark on the rugby sevens landscape.
A regular star for Queensland at junior representative levels for some years, Ackland made her Next Gen 7s debut on home ground this year.
Fraser Judd, Cricket
Swapping Central Queensland for the Garden City was worked wonders for Judd as he continues to chase his cricketing dream while attending Toowoomba Grammar School.
Judd has starred in various rep sides for the regions over the last 18 months and broke into the Met-Easts A-grade side this one-day season.
The teenager was unfazed by the task of facing some of Toowoomba’s best senior cricketers as he scored an unbeaten century for the Trojans in their round 6 clash with Souths.
Lilli Hamilton, Cricket
She may still be a teenager, but Hamilton has the maturity and poise of some of the game’s most experienced stars.
The young spin bowler has been a force to be reckoned with over the last 12 months as she has made her mark for Queensland at youth level and was captain of the under-19 side which finished runners-up at nationals – a tournament where her and fellow Darling Downs young gun Lucy Bourke where both named in the team of the tournament.
She has already caught the eye of Brisbane Heat officials as she was called up for the T20 Spring Challenge this year.
Bud Smith, Rugby League
The career path similarities between Bud Smith and his famous dad Jason are uncanny.
Like his dad Bud is making his mark in the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs junior program as he hopes to break into the NRL one day.
The hard-running lock has earned rave reviews during his time with the Bulldogs and was named in the Queensland under-19 Emerging Origin squad this season.
Judah Magarey, Running
Fleet-footed runner Judah Magarey is a star on the rise.
In 2023 he wrote his name into Queensland Representative School Sports Track and Field State Championships history winning the 1500m in a record 4 minutes and 50.99 seconds.
In May he won the Toowoomba Chronicle 2km junior dash – ran in conjunction with the inaugural Toowoomba Marathon – and backed that performance up with a win in the Gold Coast Bulletin 2km Junior Dash.
After crossing the line in 6 minutes 35 seconds at the Gold Coast, Magarey became just the second runner since 2017 to secure back-to-back crowns in the event.
Tatum Stewart, Hockey
At just 22 Stewart represents the bright future of Australian women’s hockey.
Since making her debut against China in March of 2023 Stewart has quickly established her as one of the Hockeyroos key players.
The young defender has scored nine goals in 39 matches for the Hockeyroos including the winner against South Africa in the opening match of the Paris Olympics.
Taylah Chapman, Multi-class athlete
Chapman was an unstoppable force at the 2023 13-19 Years Queensland School Sport Track & Field Championships.
The young athlete bought home six medals from the event winning shot put, javelin, discus and 200m gold. 100m silver and 4x 100m relay (bronze).
In the same year she held nine Queensland para athletic records, one national record and was invited to join the Athletics Australia Target Talent Program.
Chapman continued to improve this year and you can expect to see her in Aussie green and gold one day.
Simone Botha and Kaylin van Greunen, Netball
The dynamic duo are a step closer to realising their Super Netball dreams.
The Darling Downs juniors have both been named in the Queensland Firebirds Futures Academy.
Both have been involved in the Queensland and Australia junior representative programs in recent years and 2025 is shaping as their breakout years.
Mackenzie Zeller, Rugby League
Just four days after she turned 19, Zeller ran out at Clive Berghofer Stadium for the Western Clydesdales in their inaugural BMD Premiership game and has not looked back since.
She featured in all 10 games for the Clydesdales in 2024 on their way to the finals and started eight times, featuring in all 70 minutes of the clash on five occasions.
Her efforts at junior rep and BMD Premiership level for the Clydesdales saw her named in the extended Emerging Maroons squad in 2024.
Quinn Croker, Golf
Quinn Croker had a breakthrough 2024 as he took out the Australian Amateur championship in January before claiming the Queensland Amateur Matchplay Championship in September.
Since then he has made his professional debut, competed in the Australian PGA Championship – where he made the cut, finishing tied for 43rd at -3 and also competed in Q School for the Korn Ferry Tour.
Mackenzie Grimes, Swimming
Grimes backed up a breakout 2023 swim season with an equally impressive 2024.
Competing at the National Swimming titles earlier this year she won national champion 16yrs 100m backstroke (gold), 16yrs 200m backstroke (silver), 16yrs 50m backstroke (bronze), national champion team 16yrs Qld mixed medley relay team (gold) and national champion team 16yrs Qld girls medley relay (gold).
The teen swim queen is one of Australia’s most promising young swimmer.
De La Salle and Xavier Va’a, Rugby League
The brothers represent a scary future for any team taking on the Sydney Roosters forward pack in future.
Weighing in at 114kg and standing 198cm tall, De La Salle Va’a made his Roosters NRL debut in round 27 this season.
Both brothers have amazing work ethics coupled with top skill sets and it is believed their contracts with the Roosters have been extended to 2026.
Lyhkan King-Togia, Rugby League
The Dalby junior made his NRL debut this year – coming off the bench for St George Dragons in their 32-16 win over Gold Coast Titans.
In 10 minutes the young playmaker produced eight tackles and ran for 13m.
After playing the Titans in round 24, King-Togia featured in the Dragons next three matches to round out the season.
Matt Hawthorne, Hockey
Toowoomba’s ability to produce junior hockey stars is uncanny.
Hawthorne is the latest young star rising out of the region.
In 2023 he was named in the Australian Under 18 Futures Squad after Queensland won silver at the Australian Under 18 Championships.
After an impressive 2024 season he has been named in the Burras Junior World Cup squad which play in a series of world cup qualifiers in early 2025.
Hunter Corney, Motorcycle racing
Corney will be looking to place his name alongside Toowoomba motorsport legends Will Brown and Will Power.
Despite trailing early in the series, the 13-year-old wrapped up the Oceania bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup in November.
One of Australia’s most promising motorsport stars he has years ahead of him but is quickly closing in on greatness.
Cedar Johnson, Athletics
Following in the footsteps of fellow Darling Downs athletics star Brielle Erbacher, Cedar Johnson is making his mark in the steeplechase.
The teenage athlete has limited experience in the sport but it has failed to stop him in his tracks as he claimed gold in the U15 boys’ 2000m steeplechase at the All Schools National Championships recently.
Facing some of the best young guns in the country, the 14-year-old was a class above as he set a season best time of 6:10.64 - more than 12 seconds clear of the silver medallist.
Johnson also put the state on notice when he claimed gold in the 3000m run at the Queensland Track and Field Championships.
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