The 22-year-old, who started his career with Cwmafan, has been a key player for the Ospreys this season and a consistent figure in his role at 10 for Mark Jones’ side.
Edwards form caught the eye of former Wales head coach Warren Gatland who gave the youngster his Wales debut during the Six Nations back in February.
Edwards finished the campaign as the third-highest scorer in the league with 112 points and will be part of Wales’ touring party for two tests against Japan this summer.
Also nominated are Scarlets trio of Blair Murray, Ellis Mee, and Macs Page.
Murray, the joint second top-try scorer in the URC with eight, and Mee both made their international debuts this season, while 20-year-old Page is viewed as one of the rising stars of the Welsh game by both those at Parc y Scarlets and beyond.
Cardiff’s Gabe Hamer-Webb and Dragons Aneurin Owen have also been nominated for outstanding efforts in their respective campaigns.
Players who were 23 and under at the start of the season and had no more than five international caps are eligible for the award.
They also needed to have made nine appearances in the league this season to make the shortlist.
There are 16 players on the shortlist, with Wales perhaps surprisingly well represented with six nominations. The winner of the award will be determined by a media vote.
A full list of nominees can be seen below:
Quan Horn, Henco van Wyk (Emirates Lions), Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls), Matt Currie, Paddy Harrison (Edinburgh Rugby) Gabe Hamer-Webb (Cardiff Rugby)
Ellis Mee, Macs Page, Blair Murray (Scarlets), Jack Boyle (Leinster Rugby), Suleiman Hartzenberg, Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers), Simone Gesi (Zebre Parma), Aneurin Owen, (Dragons RFC), Dan Edwards (Ospreys).
[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]
