Age: 22
Height: 188cm
Weight: 85kg
Pos: Defender/midfielder
From: San Diego Padres (baseball)
Inside word:
Former under-15 All-Australian schoolboy Corey Adamson chose to pursue a baseball career at the age of 16 and signed as contract with the San Diego Padres. He retired from baseball in August and has been training with the West Coast Eagles ever since.
Under the AFL player draft regulations, Adamson can sit outside the rookie list under a rule which allows clubs to recruit players under a three-year non-registered rule, which gives clubs access to players who have not been registered with an organised Australian football competition for three years or more.
The long-time Eagles fan, now 22, played in the same WA schoolboys team as Jack Darling, David Swallow and Brandon Matera, while others to earn All-Australian honours included Stephen May (Gold Coast),Curtly Hampton (GWS), Tom Young (Western Bulldogs) and Ben Jacobs (North Melbourne).
An outfielder and hitter, Adamson never lost his passion for Australia’s indigenous game and took a football to training in the US, often kicking the ball around as part of his warm up for baseball practice.
After initial discussions, West Coast recruiting officer Brad Smith travelled to the US to carry out some testing with Adamson and upon returning to WA set the wheels in motion to get the approval process moving.
Full draft coverage
Rohan O'Brien says:
Knowing Corey’s background, where he was a very talented junior before taking up an opportunity to sign a contract with the San Diego Padres, we felt this was an opportunity for us to take on a project at no cost under AFL drafting rules. We know Corey, we know his ability and while he hasn’t played football for six years we believe he can re-acclimatise and make the adjustment.
We initiated discussions with Corey and his family, with Trevor Woodhouse and Brad Smith doing a lot of background work before Brad flew to the US to complete some athletic and skills testing.
We’re delighted to list him under the AFL three-year non-registered rule and look forward to watching his progress.
While he has not been in the football system, he has been entrenched in a professional environment and has shown his commitment to play at a high level which, coupled with his achievements as a junior footballer, made the decision easy for us.”
