Drew Martin Biography

A potential ruckman who blitzed the 20m sprint is among four American athletes to be invited to travel to trial for AFL clubs in September.

College basketballer Drew Martin won an invitation to head to Australia following a brilliant few days of testing at the International Combine in Los Angeles earlier this year.

The 22-year-old, who stands 201cm and 92kg, proved his athleticism by recording a stunning time of 2.85 seconds in the 20m sprint. The all-time combine record is 2.75 seconds (by former Gold Coast player Joel Wilkinson in 2010), but Martin's time puts him in elite company.

Cullen Russo (from Fresno State University), Zac Allman (Vanguard University) and Stephen Bennett (Texas Southern University) are the other US prospects to have won an invitation to test their wares in front of AFL clubs. All are above 200cm as the AFL looks to find more ruckmen and key position players out of America.

Bennett showed his aerial prowess by winning the relative and absolute running vertical jumps tests at the combine, while Allman finished in the top five for the repeat sprints and running vertical jump.

In the past the American hopefuls have attended the national NAB AFL Draft Combine at Etihad Stadium in October, but this year they will trial in the weeks earlier so the clubs can concentrate on assessing their talent without having the 2017 draft pool in attendance.

They will be advised closely during their stay by Port Adelaide premiership coach and former GWS and Richmond assistant Mark Williams, who has taken on a role within the AFL's talent division.

College basketballer Drew Martin was the standout prospect at this week's Draft Combine in Los Angeles, in what has been described as the best ever group of American AFL hopefuls.

Martin was one of 18 athletes from around America to test over three days at the University of California, Los Angeles, in a bid to win a trial in Australia later this year.

The 22-year-old, who stood 201cm and 92kg, graduated with a finance degree last Saturday at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, before quickly going on to finish in the top-five of four tests.

"The former college basketballer wasted little time in catching the eye of the AFL scouts, recording a lightning quick 2.85 seconds for the 20-metre sprint. That's rare for any AFL prospect at the NAB AFL Draft Combines held for over 20 years," AFL national and international talent manager Kevin Sheehan said.

"And at his age and size there is still room for physical development to suit a new sport."