Despite no longer having any Florida-based schools in its conference, Sun Belt football teams have long taken advantage of the South Florida pipeline.
As the 2026 college season approaches, let’s take a look at some former South Florida high school players poised to thrive this fall. Today, we’re covering the Sun Belt’s West Division, which consists of seven schools: Arkansas State, Louisiana, Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama, Southern Miss, and Troy.
For this list, we are defining South Florida as Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties. Given the current state of college athletics and the ever-changing rosters in the transfer portal era, we have included only schools that have publicly released official 2026 rosters. As a result, Louisiana Monroe is not on this list. Although South Alabama lists 10 Florida-born players on its 2026 roster, none are from South Florida.
We previously covered the Sun Belt East Division here.
Honorable mention: Cooper Fordham, C, Louisiana
Fordham is the only Florida player on Louisiana’s roster, so we’re comfortable cheating and including him here. The 6-foot-2, 295-pound Fordham is originally from Jacksonville and was a three-star recruit coming out of the Bolles School. His father, Todd, played offensive tackle at Florida State and spent nine seasons in the NFL.
Arkansas State
Corey Reddick, Jr., RB, St. Thomas Aquinas, R-Sr.: Reddick rushed for 641 yards and seven touchdowns on 5.6 yards per carry at Valdosta State last year. The former three-star recruit initially began his college career at Western Carolina. He’s a name you’ll want to become quickly acquainted with ahead of his redshirt senior season.
Jaylen Bonelli, WR, St. Thomas Aquinas, Sr.: Bonelli was an elite playmaker at Wagner, tallying 92 catches for 1,416 yards and 10 touchdowns over two seasons. He earned NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year and freshman All-American honors in 2023.
Louisiana Tech
Jaden Miller, RB, Southridge, R-Jr.: Miller transfers in from Keiser after a stellar 1,127-yard and 18-touchdown season. The 6-foot, 202-pound Miller rushed for nearly 1,700 yards and 24 touchdowns in 22 games. He’s going to prove to be a massive find for the Bulldogs.
Ty Jones, S, Champagnat Catholic, Sr.: We spoke with Jones about his journey, so we’ll keep this short. Jones began his college career at Mt. San Antonio College (Calif.), later transferred to Northern Arizona, and broke out at Norfolk State last year. Get ready to see him make the most of his long-awaited FBS opportunity.
Southern Miss
Casey Jean-Baptiste, OL, Worthington, Jr.: Good luck moving the 6-foot-5, 357-pound Jean-Baptiste, who began his college career by earning All-Conference honors at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. He played at Butler Community College (Kan.) last year.
Which Sun Belt football players are you excited to watch this season? Let us know in the comment section!
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