Florida’s 2028 Watch List: Five Players Worth Another Look

<a href="https://preplacrosse.com/national/player-rankings/2028-lacrosse-lax-south-region-player-rankings/" data-type="link" data-id="https://preplacrosse.com/national/player-rankings/2028-lacrosse-lax-south-region-player-rankings/">A lot of Southern talent is flying off the board, as you can see in our 2028 Southern rankings</a> from September 8.   The players below are on the Watch List for now, but each has already shown enough to put himself firmly in the ranking conversation. In many cases, they've played alongside teammates on loaded club rosters, which can make it harder to command the spotlight consistently. Still, the tools, production, and flashes of high-level play are all there.   Here are five 2028 Florida players who have put themselves in position to earn another look this fall.    When a player produces more than 100 points in a season, you have to pay attention. Dig a little deeper, and it is easy to see why he scored 60 goals in the spring. He has next-level deception as a shooter, both on the run and with his feet set. I love his ability to pump with a low windup or look low before pulling the ball high from his underhand release. Freezing a goalie low and then pulling it high is a skill that will translate at any level. On the run, he has a violent, unique windup, but he releases from the same level and can hit anywhere around the goal. He also mixes in shots off the Earth, making life that much more frustrating for goalies.   He is a cherry picker in the best way possible—always finding the backside pipe off the ball and finishing with confident fakes for guaranteed goals. As a lefty, he lives on the wing, but his game will translate out of the box. He knows how to control slides and open up teammates, with some slick feeds that squeeze through tight windows.     Miller has big-time potential and is already used to the spotlight. <a href="https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/sports/high-school/sports-awards/2026/05/28/2026-herald-tribune-boys-lacrosse-player-of-the-year-all-area-team/89700668007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z11----p119650l11xx50c119650e002900v11xx10o11----d--30--b--30--&gca-ft=252&gca-ds=sophi" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/sports/high-school/sports-awards/2026/05/28/2026-herald-tribune-boys-lacrosse-player-of-the-year-all-area-team/89700668007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z11----p119650l11xx50c119650e002900v11xx10o11----d--30--b--30--&gca-ft=252&gca-ds=sophi">Coaches from Sarasota and Manatee County schools named him Player of the Year</a> after he put up 62 goals and 44 assists for Manatee in the spring, beating out plenty of upperclassmen for the honor. On his spring tape, he looks like a player far beyond the players around him, slicker and able to score any way he wants. He is a lefty who can fake, toe drag, and score around defenders at will. I love his underhand lefty release, where he can pull it high or keep it low to keep goalies guessing.   In the summer, he was a little overshadowed by some of his Sweetlax Florida and Silver teammates, but one play from Miller still stands out. In an overtime game against DC Express at Naptown, he took the ball behind the cage, juked a defender so badly that he fell over the back of the net, then came up the hashes and buried the game-winner.     An absolute cannon. That is how I would describe Kirchmer coming out of the box and what his shot looks like. He plays a million miles an hour, and he shoots like it, too. When you have a player who can hit shots down the alley, defenses will eventually have to slide. He isn't afraid to hit shots with his left or get to the middle, and he's shown flashes of high-level feeding. What will get him on the field even more is his play on the defensive side. He has the physicality to bully dodgers with jams and the feet to match. He is an awesome option in transition as a one-man clear, and you want him shooting when you have the numbers advantage.     [player_tooltip player_id='212594' first='Blake' last='Smith'] strikes me as a defender who will be a late bloomer. At 6-foot-6, it will take time to get used to that kind of height, but the skills and IQ are there. With Smith's length, he needs to use it to his advantage. At Naptown, I saw him fire off a well-timed slide and force a turnover when the dodger seemed to wilt as Smith came his way. He has the IQ to know not only when to fire toward dodgers, but also how to use his length to recover back to his matchup and get his stick into passing lanes while he does. I would describe Smith as a project for now, but not for much longer.     When you play on one of the nation's best club teams, it is easy to get overshadowed. Bendixsen was one of those players. He found his way onto the field primarily as an SSDM, but he also saw time on offense. On defense, his feet stand out. He can bump and run with quick dodgers, then close out when it matters. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty in groundball scrums or help in the clear, either. He is a quick dodger and fluid mover on offense. He gets the party started with long dodges, is willing to make the smart play by kicking the ball forward, and looks to get to his hard overhand shot with his feet set off the ball.

A lot of Southern talent is flying off the board, as you can see in our 2028 Southern rankings from September 8.