Killie’s special local goalkeeper connection

Kilmarnock Football Club has a prolonged and proud record of producing successful, top-quality goalkeepers. 

In its modern history, the likes of Colin Meldrum, Alan Combe, Graeme Smith, Craig Samson, Colin Stewart and Cammy Bell have all been developed at Ayrshire’s finest, with the latter famously putting in a stellar man of the match performance on the club’s way to League Cup glory in 2012. 

Those types of achievements have filtered through to the new age of goalkeepers coming through the club’s academy, with some of our young guns winning cups, promotions and player of the year awards while out on loan at local West of Scotland Football League sides, as well as international recognition.  

Delving further back, Alan McCulloch – a Killie Hall of Fame inductee – arrived at Rugby Park from Kilbirnie. He also represented Scotland’s Under-21s during his years spent at the club.  

Meanwhile, Ayrshire native Jim Stewart went on to play for Scotland after becoming first choice at Kilmarnock. One of Scotland’s most highly regarded goalkeeping experts, Stewart was part of Scotland’s World Cup squad in 1974. And the connection between Killie and the local junior network – which is hugely important to everyone within the first team and academy staff at the club – was on full display back then too, with a spell at Troon Juniors helping Stewart to refine his skills. 

Kilmarnock set themselves apart from other clubs in Scotland, leading the way by creating a cohesive pathway between the boys and girls’ academy. Fraser Stewart, Paul Di Giacomo and Jim Chapman have established an integrated system, which sees all goalkeepers from the younger age groups training together in a unique environment to help with their training, knowledge and overall development. The results have seen international recognition for some of the club’s talented boys and girls. 

The club’s history of producing top-tier goalkeepers is undeniable, and strides continue to be made to prolong such a strong reputation. Here is a look at the five keepers currently working with Stewart, Kilmarnock FC’s head of goalkeeping since 2022. 

Corey Armour 

Corey joined Killie aged 10, signing from local boys’ club Hurlford. A boyhood Kilmarnock supporter, the 20-year-old comes from the New Farm area of the town and has been a familiar face around the first team having progressed through the academy ranks into the first team in recent seasons.  

During the club’s pre-season tour of the Netherlands in 2025, Corey earned a first team appearance in a friendly match against renowned Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar.  

He has been a shining example of the club utilising the loan market to its advantage, whilst also creating and maintaining positive relations with local West of Scotland Football League clubs, who have now been promoted to the Lowland League.  

Corey initially picked up vital minutes at Maybole Juniors before a successful loan spell at top junior side Auchinleck Talbot. There he helped win promotion with Tucker Sloan’s team and played a part in their Scottish Junior Cup triumph. This move came off the back of former Killie keeper Aidan Glavin recommending Beechwood Park as the ideal place for Corey to become an established player. He was also able to pick up important snippets of information from Andy Leishman, who plied his trade at Talbot for over a decade.  

He returned to Talbot for the second half of last season, but his progress was halted due to sustaining a serious knee injury. Corey was also unlucky with injuries when he was sent on loan to League One outfit Kelty Hearts. 

“The dream is obviously to play for Kilmarnock, my friends and family are all helping me work towards that,” Corey said. “Fraser Stewart has high standards and expects you to be the best version of yourself. 

“These guys are all so disciplined, that’s what I need to strive to be like too, a lot of sacrifices must be made when you have these aspirations. At the end of the day that’s for my future, I am happy to make sacrifices when it comes to being the best version of myself. I can’t let it slip for even one day.”  

Dylan Brown 

Much like his colleague Corey, Dylan is a boyhood Killie fan and has been on the books since joining from Cumnock Juniors as an eight-year-old. 

He was our Scottish Youth Cup winning goalkeeper in 2025, when Chris Burke’s young guns defeated Dundee 2-0 at Hampden Park in front of an encouraging support from Ayrshire. Since then, he has progressed into the first team fold and has played his part of Stewart’s goalkeeping unit at Rugby Park. 

Hailing from New Cumnock, his loan spells to date have been spent at nearby Auchinleck Talbot – which again highlights the importance of this relationship – and Kilwinning Rangers.  

Dylan has represented Scotland at Under-17s international level, and is highly thought of throughout the club, which was shown with the extension of his contract. He signed a new deal until the summer of 2028 in the last few months.  

The 18-year-old was part of Neil McCann’s squad which travelled to Belfast, Northern Ireland in early July, and will continue to train alongside Max Stryjek and Calum Ferrie as he pushes to earn a spot in a matchday squad in the future, while getting further experience out on loan. 

Jamie Morrison 

Swapping East Ayrshire for North, Jamie is from Ardrossan, previously playing for established boys club TASS Thistle before integrating into Killie’s academy ranks aged 12.  

He comes from a football family, with elder brother Liam coming through at Celtic, before a dream move to Bayern Munich as a teenager beckoned. He has also turned out for Wigan and QPR before a loan spell at Aberdeen during the latter months of last season. 

Jamie is a keeper within the club’s academy and recently signed his first professional contract shortly after his 16th birthday. He will be contesting to be the top pick in the U19s in the year ahead. 

Born in 2010, he has featured for both our Under-17s and 19s sides in recent seasons and even earned Scotland appearances for their U15s age group. 

The youngest in the group, Jamie has plenty of older heads to lean upon as he looks to gain more minutes in Kris Doolan’s side next term, and potentially even first team football out on loan. 

Max Stryjek 

The Polish stopper joined the club from Jagiellonia Białystok last summer, making 16 appearances during the 25/26 campaign.  

An inspiration to everyone associated with the club, and the wider Scottish football public, Max underwent open heart surgery in November last year following routine checks. This ruled him out for around six months, albeit he made his return to the first team substitutes bench after four.  

Max signed a new one-year contract until the summer of 2027 upon the conclusion of last season, after he played all five post-split matches, and helped to settle the team’s backline during a successful run-in which saw McCann’s side secure safety in the Scottish Premiership. He has started this season in positive form too, keeping numerous clean sheets, saving penalties too. 

The most senior keeper within the first team unit, having also played for Sunderland, Livingston and Wycombe Wanderers, Max’s experience can be of benefit to any of the aforementioned younger trio will aim to one day make a breakthrough in Killie colours, as the 30-year-old continues to lead by example between the sticks on a matchday, and maintaining high standards during training.  

Calum Ferrie 

Our latest recruit, Calum became the club’s second signing of the summer after an undisclosed package was agreed with Queen’s Park – who he played 199 games for. 

The 28-year-old previously worked with Neil McCann during a stint at Dundee while he was manager earlier in his career. They now reunite at BBSP Stadium Rugby Park. 

Calum famously played a vital role in helping Queen’s Park produce one of the biggest-ever Scottish Cup shocks when the Championship side knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup fifth round in 2025. He saved a last-minute penalty by James Tavernier to secure their passage to the quarter-finals of the competition. 

With plenty of knowledge and background of the Scottish game, Calum’s experience will also be important in assisting Corey, Dylan and Jamie with their respective progression. 

Stewart said: “Our club has a rich history of producing goalkeepers who can excel on the domestic and international scene. It’s crucial that myself and the academy staff along with the goalkeepers themselves strive to ensure our future recreates those patterns. 

“Corey, Dylan and Jamie are live examples of our pathway, and they all have bright futures ahead of them. All our academy goalkeepers must recognise the rewards for the hard work and dedication shown by the three boys, as they continue to progress toward the first team. 

“The success of loans has played a massive part in the development of our young goalkeepers. I cannot thank the clubs and their managers for trusting the boys to go and play and supporting them within it. Every club has created a fantastic environment for the goalkeepers to go and showcase their own abilities, which has undoubtedly aided them at a crucial stage of their respective developments.  

“Every senior goalkeeper in my time at Kilmarnock has offered great support to our younger group. I believe this unity and strength plays a fundamental role in shaping the futures of the younger members of the squad, whether they progress their careers at Rugby Park or further afield.” 

This piece was first published in Issue 1 of the 2026/27 Killie Magazine.