AFL Rising Star

The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buckley, playing for the Brisbane Bears. The recipient of the AFL Rising Star has been awarded the Ron Evans Medal since 2007, named in honour of the former AFL Commission chairman following his death that year.

The award was sponsored by Norwich Union Australia from its inception in 1993 until 2000. The AFL then secured a six-year sponsorship deal with Ansett Australia in 2001 that included the Rising Star award; however, this agreement only lasted the one season following the collapse of Ansett in September 2001. National Australia Bank sponsored the award for two decades from 2002 to 2022, marking the longest commercial partnership in the award's history; they were not replaced by any sponsor for the 2023 edition. An equivalent award has existed in the AFL Women's league since its inception in 2017.

The clubs with the most AFL Rising Star awards are Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney, with three awards won by players representing these teams. Greater Western Sydney's eight nominations in the 2012 season was the most any club has achieved in a season. The most recent recipient of the award is Geelong's Oliver Dempsey, winning in 2024.