The Gold Coast SUNS have officially lodged paperwork with the AFL to sign former cricketer Zak Evans as a Category B Rookie ahead of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
Evans has received approval from the AFL to begin training with the Gold Coast SUNS immediately and will be available to play the remainder of the 2024 VFL season with the club.
Having last played AFL at school level, Evans joins the SUNS as a mature-age recruit after playing representative cricket as a fast bowler since 2018.
Evans has most recently represented the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League and Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.
Prior to his T20 debut, Evans was also a member of Australia’s 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squad.
Evans’ last game of competitive football was for Xavier College in 2018, allowing him to bypass the draft system and be eligible to be selected as a category B rookie.
GC SUNS National Recruiting Manager Kall Burns said the club had continued to monitor Evans’ progress as a cricketer and were pleased to offer him a position on the club’s list in 2025.
“As a football club, we are continuously striving to improve our list and this includes players from non-traditional pathways,” Burns said.
“Our recruiting team scouted Zak when he was playing school football in 2018 and believed he possessed attributes which aligned to playing at AFL level.”
“We are pleased Zak chose to join our club and commit to the journey our players and staff are on, and we’re excited to see what Zak can achieve with our group.”
Evans will join his new teammates for AFL training today.
