Ulster Rugby has today confirmed contract renewals for Jacob Stockdale, Ross Kane and Rob Lyttle.
Stockdale, who turned 21 this week, has scored eight tries in 14 appearances with the senior squad, including seven starts.
Ulster academy members Kane and Lyttle, have both made significant contributions to Les Kiss' squad this season, having made 11 and eight appearances respectively.
Lyttle featured for Ireland in the recent U20 Six Nations and previously captained Methodist College to a Danske Bank Ulster Schools Senior Cup' triumph in 2013.
Commenting on the news of the new deals, a delighted Les Kiss said:
"Jacob, Ross and Rob are outstanding talents who, even at a young age, have demonstrated their qualities for our senior team.
"In addition to having the physical attributes to be top class players, they also possess a positive mental aptitude and a strong understanding of the game. Their development has really accelerated under Kieran Campbell and Willie Anderson in the Academy and they have shown great appetite to continue that with the senior squad.
"All three were identified in the school game at a young age and have come through our player development pathway, which is essential for the sustainable future of Ulster Rugby. We have significantly increased investment in this area over the past couple of years and we are starting to reap the rewards.
"The challenge for us is to bring players through from outside of the school game and it was pleasing to see club youth players Tommy O'Hagan, John McCusker and Joe Dunleavy starting for our Ulster A team last Friday, while we also had Adam McBurney and Aaron Hall on the bench. This is hugely positive for us and hopefully we'll see even more of this in the years ahead."
Additional reporting by Sinead Farrell.
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