Eastern Ranges tall utility Marcus Krasnadamskis is firming to be selected at the AFL National Draft after bolting onto the radar of clubs since making the switch from basketball.
An athletic, skilful and physical ruck who models his game on Luke Jackson, the 199cm prospect played 13 games in 2025, named in the best on seven occasions, earning him a state combine invite and strong interest from AFL clubs.
The Western Bulldogs has been rumoured to have had strong interest with their second selection, and many clubs now view him as the second-best ruck in the draft behind top-five fancy Cooper Duff-Tytler.
But much like Duff-Tytler's more fabled sport switch, Krasnadamskis too gave up basketball, despite having rubbed shoulders with 10 college-bound hoopers, including Luke Fennell and Austin Rapp.
Unlike the Calder Cannons tall, though, Krasnadamskis revealed his decision to pursue footy was a decision purely made for enjoyment, with the nourishment from the team environment of footy confirming he made the right decision.
| 32 RANK |  | Marcus Krasnadamskis Eastern Ranges Ruck/Forward HEIGHT: 199cm | ▶+ |
"(I was going) to basketball training and games like, 'oh, I've got basketball' so it was like a chore but I've never really had footy sort of give me that sort of feeling," Krasnadamskis said.
"The banter around (footy) and like, everybody taking the piss, but genuinely caring about each other and being able to joke around (whereas) in a basketball setting, we could banter but it was a lot more serious.
"Not being able to play (footy last year) because of basketball commitments was really, really hard for me, I was quite gutted.
"My first game (for Eastern), that was probably a big step for me.
"I was just like, 'yes, I'm pretty happy with the decision that I made'."
The big man was part of the Ranges talent pathway in both 2023 as an U16s player, and 2024, but failed to play a game last year as basketball commitments took precedent.
So far away was footy at any level from Krasnadamskis' mind in pre-season that he wasn't even registered until February, and was only convinced to play local U19s footy by a mate at Berwick.
Like fellow Ranges bolter Sullivan Robey, Krasnadamskis wasn't on Eastern Ranges' roster entering 2025, given the basketball commitments, but the program kept tabs on him and invited him back in after six shining local games.
A conversation at Eastern Ranges' home base with talent lead Danny Ryan and coach Lauren Morecroft changed the Eastern prospect's course for 2025, and he hasn't looked back.
“When he left (the program) to pursue basketball, we always said to him that the door would be open for him to return,” Ryan said.
“We tracked him from afar and when we got wind he was back playing, we didn't even send a recruiter out to watch him, we just made the phone call to bring him in and see what he could do.
“When we had that conversation, I'll always remember the massive smile on his face.
“He was so excited to get the opportunity and then when the opportunity came for him to play, I think he had an even bigger smile on his face.
“He's a really untapped talent because he plays on natural instinct and has a step like a smaller midfielder.
“He's an excitement machine at his size and you see his basketball background come out when he gets the ball in traffic and he's not afraid to get down and dirty and crash and bash with the little fellas.”
The basketball resume is headlined by representation at the U20 Australian National Championships, Victoria's U18s at Shanghai in 2024, and a gold medal at the Australian School Championships for Berwick College last year.
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Krasnadamskis reflects on his basketball with raw honesty, acknowledging the benefits of exposure to a high-performance environment, including at sports academy Berwick College, but noting there were several elements of the sport that he won't miss.
"When I went up to school nationals for Berwick College or when I went to Shanghai (for) Australia, the biggest takeaway was recovery," Krasnadamskis reflected.
"I really applied it and (they) really drove us to take care of our bodies.
“The professionalism and mindset (at Berwick College) was another big thing that has helped.”
Krasnadamskis' sound athletic profile was on show at the AFL Draft National Combine, where he ran the 20-metre sprint in a blistering time of 2.887 seconds, placing him second overall, while he finished fourth in both the standing and running vertical jumps with leaps of 74cm and 88cm respectively.
But it's what he can do to accompany his athletic traits that Krasnadamskis has been keen to advertise.
"Definitely the physicality was one that I (want to show)," Krasnadamskis said.
"I had never played ruck before, so I've never really had the ruck sort of feel, which was pretty hard (in the) first couple of games coming in.
"But (fellow ruck) Jayden Lawrence, really drove me to be consistent with my physicality and be consistent with following up the ball, which was really important."
Krasnadamskis is set to watch the second night of the draft at a local Berwick hotel, where his name is likely to be called, with the support network that helped guide him to make an informed decision between the sports.
Given his raw frame, Krasnadamskis echoes the widespread view that he would likely start his career in attack before graduating to more ruck minutes and is keen for the next chapter to begin.
"A hard worker and someone who's competitive on the field, off the field, just in pretty much everything that you do, really," Krasnadamskis said when asked what a club would get if it drafted him.
"I've always loved, not to make everything a competition, but to sort of be the best at everything I do, which going into an AFL system will really drive me to be and perform and do the best that I can do."
