Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced the 2025 CSA Emerging Academy intake for men and women.
This year’s Emerging Academy group will gather at the CSA Centre of Excellence in Tshwane from June until the end of July, following the respective Men’s and Women’s Emerging tours in Bangladesh between 06 – 27 May.
The Academy is a long-standing initiative that seeks to fast-track the transition of talented players from age-group and provincial cricket to the national stage through elite coaching and high-performance initiatives under the guidance of Academy head coaches Malibongwe Maketa (Men) and Dinesha Devnarain (Women).
Among the prospective talents attending the men’s academy are DP World Lions’ Connor Esterhuizen, North West Dragons’ Meeka-eel Prince, and Ntando Zuma from the ACDC Express Tuskers. The women’s academy is highlighted by the Proteas Women capped trio of Seshnie Naidu, Nondumiso Shangase and Faye Tunnicliffe in addition to former SA U19 Women’s captain Kayla Reyneke.
CSA Head of High Performance, Grant van Velden, commented:
“The Emerging Academy remains a cornerstone of our development pathway, providing a high-performance platform to identify, nurture, and upskill the most promising talent in South African cricket.
“It’s incredibly exciting to welcome such a gifted group of youngsters from U19 and provincial cricket into this elite environment.
“Congratulations to the class of 2025. We look forward to seeing you grow, both as cricketers and as individuals, in the months ahead.”
2025 CSA Emerging Academy – Men
Schalk Englebrecht (Momentum Multiply Titans), Connor Esterhuizen (DP Lions), Thobile Hlatuka (Eastern Cape Iinyathi), Tristan Luus (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dewan Marais (Eastern Storm), Nqobani Mokoena (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Romashan Pillay (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Meeka-eel Prince (Renault North West Dragons), Richard Seletswane (DP World Lions), Ntando Soni (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), George van Heerden (Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers), Tiaan Van Vuuren (Knights), and Ntando Zuma (ACDC Express Tuskers).
2025 CSA Emerging Academy – Women
Alex Candler (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Jenna Evans (DP World Lions), Gandhi Jafta (Fidelity Titans), Leah Jones (World Sports Betting Western Province), Mona-Lisa Legodi (Fidelity Titans), Tebogo Macheke (Fidelity Titans), Seshnie Naidu (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Luyanda Nzuza (Knights), Verunissa Reddy (Knights), Kayla Reyneke (World Sports Betting Western Province), Nondumiso Shangase (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Oluhle Siyo (World Sports Betting Western Province), Miane Smit (Knights), Faye Tunnicliffe (World Sports Betting Western Province), and Caitlyn Wyngaard (World Sports Betting Western Province).
