Crystal Palace’s Academy has produced a succession of prolific forwards since being awarded Category One status in July 2020, the highest classification available to an academy in England. Donte Martin is the latest to attract attention, with back-to-back hat-tricks helping the Under-18s claim consecutive league victories and taking his tally to 11 goals in 10 appearances this season.
One of the first standout scorers of the Category One era was Omilabu. His goals helped Palace finish second in the Under-18 Premier League South, missing out on the title only on goal difference, while he was named the division’s joint-leading scorer and the club’s Under-18 Player of the Season. He later scored the extra-time winner against Wolves in the Under-23s’ Premier League 2 Division One play-off semi-final after signing his first professional contract in March 2021. Across 86 Academy appearances, Omilabu recorded 34 goals and 14 assists.
Zach Marsh has since established the strongest record among the players highlighted. After joining Palace from Watford at Under-16 level, he produced 12 goals and 12 assists in 24 Under-18 appearances in 2022/23. He followed that with six hat-tricks in the next campaign before an injury against Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup ended his season in February 2024, by which time he had scored 24 goals and supplied five assists in 25 matches. Marsh went on to contribute regularly for the Under-21s, finishing 2024/25 with five goals and seven assists before leading the side’s charts last season with 11 goals and seven assists. His overall Academy record stands at 52 goals and 29 assists in 97 appearances.
Benji Casey’s progress accelerated during the second half of 2023/24. After making his Under-18 debut against Manchester United in the Premier League Cup semi-final, he scored his first goal against Arsenal a week later. Casey added 12 goals and an assist in his first full season at that level, then struck 19 times in 18 appearances across all competitions in 2025/26. His campaign included two hat-tricks and the best minutes-per-goal record in the Under-18 Premier League South, with a goal every 74 minutes.
Casey also made his senior debut in Palace’s 3-0 UEFA Conference League win over Shelbourne. At Academy level, he played a key role in the run to the club’s first Under-18 Premier League Cup triumph and its first FA Youth Cup semi-final in almost 30 years. In the final against Manchester United, he won and scored a 94th-minute penalty to send the match into extra time before Palace prevailed in the shootout. His performances earned him the Academy’s Scholar of the Year award, and he has 41 goals and 10 assists in 70 appearances despite an injury-disrupted start to the current campaign.
Martin joined Palace at Under-15 level in 2023/24 and scored more than 30 goals in his first Academy season. He added 27 goals as the Under-16s’ captain in 2024/25, then scored twice in six Under-18 appearances towards the end of that campaign. Last season, he registered 15 goals and four assists in 36 matches, with nine goals coming in his final 13 appearances, and signed his first professional contract in November 2025.
The forward has continued that rise in 2026/27. He scored twice against Tottenham Hotspur, found the net against Fulham in a 3-3 comeback draw and added another brace in a 3-0 victory over Leeds United. Since the international break, Martin has struck hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and Reading, in wins by 6-2 and 5-3 respectively. Those performances have taken him to 29 Academy goals in 56 games overall, with his current-season tally standing at 11 in 10 appearances.
