A young Koroit footballer is now a number one draft pick.
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Hawthorn selected Warrnambool-based teenager Jaylen Brown via the Victorian Wheelchair Football League draft on Thursday night.
Jaylen joins the Hawks with a plethora of wheelchair sport experience to his credit, having represented Victoria and Australia in basketball.
The 15-year-old was the youngest VWFL draftee.
The nephew of AFL great Jonathan Brown - a three-time Brisbane Lions premiership forward - hopes to don the number 16 when he pulls on the brown and gold guernsey later this year.
"I'm really excited and I'm looking forward to trying a new sport," Jaylen said of joining Hawthorn.
Jaylen's mother Louise Brown, herself a former WNBL point guard, said her son's selection was a surprise to the family.
He had never never played wheelchair football prior to the draft.
He plays able-bodied football for Hampden league club Koroit.
"We had a chat with the family about the decision and Jaylen decided he wanted to give it a go," Louise said.
"He plays local football down in Warrnambool and it was potentially going to impact that but I think we're going to be able to make them both work, which will be great."
Jaylen is an amputee who has a prosthetic leg which allows him to play able-bodied football, which he has done since he was six.
"He's been really fortunate so far to be able to play until under 16s," Louise said.
"But his days of playing able-bodied football will eventually come to an end, so it's nice for him to have another avenue to continue football and it'll be good for him to try something new."
Jaylen will split his time between school, work, wheelchair football, able-bodied football and wheelchair basketball with the Kilsyth Cobras in the national wheelchair basketball league.
He represented Australia for the first time last November, playing in the Kitakyushu Cup in Japan, as he aims to don the green and gold at the under 23 world championships next year.
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