The Next Gen: 19 of Australia's rising stars

With the contracting period open for states, cricket.com.au took a look at the top 19 emerging prospects as they went through Cricket Australia’s first ever PRO Camp, each vying for a state rookie contract.

These players – made up of the best cricketers between the ages of 16 and 20 – completed extensive testing at the Bupa National Cricket Centre under the watchful eyes of state and national youth talent managers.

Cricket Australia’s revamped contracting rules will see mandatory use of the six rookie placements on each states list, with two having to be new additions.

CA’s National Talent Manager Greg Chappell says the opportunities have never been better for emerging cricketers, citing more and more pathway players are finding themselves in the First Class setup.

“This is a great time to be a young cricketer, the opportunities are greater than they’ve ever been before,” Chappell said.

“Each year they have to put two new rookies into the system which means twelve young players have the opportunity to dip their feet into the first rung of professional cricket and get to experience being a full time cricketer.

“These players come out of the youth pathway, right through from the Under 15s through to the Under 19s and the states do a great job in identifying this talent.

Players as young as 12 years old are being identified in the newly established Cricket Australia Talent Pathway and are given the opportunity to play at higher levels to test their skills.

“This season we have had CA XI’s playing up an age group, we try to stretch the best talent in the country and up the challenge for these players to keep getting better.”

Victoria was the most represented state in the camp, with five players coming from their Metropolitan and Country squads, followed by South Australia with four.

Take a look at The Next Gen by clicking on a player below and see which players may earn a First Class contract for season 2016-17.