The young Gers have reached the final of the last four editions of the competition – triumphing on two separate occasions – and will square off against Aberdeen to get their hands on the prestigious youth trophy.
The Light Blues boast a storied history in the competition, which began in 1983, with Steven Smith’s current crop of players keen to write their own chapter in Academy history.
Indeed, the current Under-18s side don’t need to look far for inspiration with their current head coach having tasted success in the competition as a youngster back in 2002.
Played at New Douglas Park in Hamilton, Rangers triumphed 4-2 in an entertaining encounter against Ayr United.
The scoring was opened by Chris Burke, who would go on to make over 100 appearances for the Gers and featured for the first-team in their Champions League exploits the very next season, before the teenager put the icing on the cake by netting the fourth of the evening.
A certain Charlie Adam was also on the scoresheet twice to essentially take the game away from their Ayrshire opponents, with Alan Hutton, who would depart Ibrox for a significant fee in January 2008, playing a starring role.
However, you need to go all the way back to 1993/94 for the first time that the young Gers triumphed in the competition.
The Light Blues reached the final, hosted at Bloomfield Park, by producing a 3-2 Old Firm victory at Ibrox in the last four, supercharged by the talent of Charlie Miller.
But squaring off against an inspired Airdrieonians outfit, Rangers’ cup dreams looked to be in tatters when the Lanarkshire side raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first half.
Although the Gers pulled a goal back before the interval, the situation prompted Walter Smith, who was in attendance as the first-team manager, to pay a visit to the dressing room at half-time and lay on the ‘hairdryer’ treatment to the squad.
What followed was an inspired turnaround from the young group, with Rangers flipping the script and running out 5-3 winners in a squad including the irrepressible Miller and Craig Moore.
Rangers backed up their maiden success in the competition by repeating the feat the following season, dispatching St. Johnstone in the final at the national stadium in a coming-of-age campaign for future Gers captain, Barry Ferguson.
There would be a 15-year wait after success in 2002 for further adulation in the competition for the club, with Rangers toasting back-to-back triumphs in 2007 and 2008.
2014 would similarly prove a special campaign for the Under-18s as they prevailed in a thrilling penalty shootout encounter against Hearts at St. Mirren Park.
After playing out a 2-2 draw across 120 minutes of action, the final is most remembered for Gers goalkeeper Liam Kelly, whose footballing journey has since taken him to Motherwell, dispatching from 12 yards before producing the match-winning save from the very next spot-kick.
Despite tasting disappointment in the final in 2015 and 2017, the young Gers bounced back by claiming their sixth Youth Cup trophy with a 3-2 Old Firm victory in 2019.
It was a contest where Nathan Patterson shined at full-back, with the Scotland international departing Rangers for a club-record fee – until the departure of Calvin Bassey in the summer of 2022 – three years later.
Among the squad that evening was also a 16-year-old Lewis Budinauckas, who started between the posts and has enjoyed an impressive campaign on loan at Stranraer this season, and a 15-year-old Leon King as an unused substitute.
The Covid-19 pandemic meant the competition was put on pause for two years, but the young Gers roared back by lifting the trophy for a second successive edition in 2022 in a 2-1 victory over Hearts, earned through goals from Rory Wilson and Darren McInally.
A fourth successive trip to Hampden awaits for Rangers this Wednesday in the final of the competition, with Steven Smith’s side looking to add number eight in the club’s history.