Lexi Watts is a standout midfielder on the ADVNC North Bay and NDP 2026 team committed to play at Franklin & Marshall.
Lexi grew up in San Francisco and played a lot of sports, including soccer. Her family moved to Mill Valley, CA when she started middle school, and during the week of the move, her mom, Virginia Seabring, signed Lexi and her twin brother, Trevor (a member of the ADVNC North Bay & NDP ‘26 teams) up for a lacrosse camp.
Lexi and her twin brother, Trevor, at their first lacrosse camp.
“I had never picked up a stick or really seen lacrosse before that,” Lexi said. “But within the first couple days of the camp, Trevor and I were trying to convince my mom to buy us all the lacrosse gear, and we were both totally hooked. It felt like such a unique sport that combined all my athletic interests.”
“It made me feel really good to see Lexi and Trevor find something they were really passionate about,” said Virginia Seabring. “They both tried lots of different sports, and I encouraged that. I didn’t want them to feel like they had to pick one. The journey to lacrosse was a natural progression for both of them. One of the things that has stood out for me with lacrosse is not just the focus on the game, but on building character.”
Once Lexi found lacrosse, she has never looked back. She started playing club lacrosse, first with Wolfpack, in Southern Marin.
“In 6th grade with Wolfpack, I made the B team, which I wasn’t super happy about,” Lexi said. “From then on, I started to really push myself to get better. I remember playing fall ball that next season, and I worked really hard to improve. Then, the ADVNC Girls Program started in Marin, and I was ready for a higher level of play. I definitely didn’t have any thoughts of playing in college at that time. I didn’t think it was even a possibility.”
After joining ADVNC, Lexi’s game improved quickly. “I started seeing things open up and realized maybe I really am good at this sport,” she said. “I felt really well surrounded by people and seeing older girls committing to college both on ADVNC and my Tamalpais High School team, and it seemed like more opportunities started opening up to me. And then, the summer of my junior year, things started to pick up even more. I was playing in a lot of tournaments that summer, which was my big college recruiting summer. I started emailing college coaches and just seeing if it would go anywhere.”
Lexi (#1) with her ADVNC 2026 team.
“It made me proud to see how hard she was working to get the attention of college coaches,” Virginia Seabring said. “Not just on the field, but the hours she spent working on her recruiting profile, working on her highlight reel, sending so many emails and talking on the phone to so many coaches. It felt like a job in a way, in terms of the amount of time she put into it. What makes me so proud is that she drove this process herself. There isn’t much you can do as a parent to help with the actual recruiting process. She did this whole thing on her own.”
Virginia Seabring, with her kids: Trevor & Lexi.
Lexi credits her ADVNC coach, “Coach Flo,” Alicia Florin, with helping her a lot in the recruiting process. “Coach Flo made me take lacrosse very seriously, but also kept it fun at the same time. She was a huge help to me in trying to get to college. I would give her a crazy long list of schools, and she helped me figure out what was realistic for me. She reached out to coaches on my behalf, and would talk to coaches at tournaments. In the offseason, she has been super good about texting me to see how I’m doing and see where she could help.”
Lexi also credits playing on the ADVNC NDP team with helping her both improve, and get in front of college coaches.
“Making NDP has been such a great next level opportunity. NDP has opened up so many more opportunities to play at a higher level. It’s been fun getting to know and playing with girls outside of Marin. My NDP team has a really strong and special bond which I think you see on the field. It’s one of my favorite teams I’ve ever been on. I love the coaches and it feels like a family on and off the field.”
“Even though all the girls don’t live in the same city, playing ADVNC NDP together has made them really close as friends,” Virginia Seabring said. “We love all the other families on the team.”
“From NDP, I made the American Select Pacific Northwest team in the summer of 2023,” Lexi said. “It’s a big thing for girls lacrosse, and you get to play in events with hundreds of college coaches at them. That’s when I thought, OK, this is really going somewhere. That’s when I felt like my hundreds of emails to college coaches started paying off.”
Lexi (middle) after winning the North Coast Section Championship with Tam High.
Lexi started drawing interest from a number of schools. “I had never heard of Franklin & Marshall, but they started showing interest in me. I knew they had a strong DIII program. I decided to fly to Lancaster, PA for their ID Camp. It was in February and terrible weather, but regardless, I loved it. Throughout the recruiting process, the F&M coaches were my favorites. They gave me an offer, and I sat on it for a little bit, and then I decided to commit. It still doesn’t feel real to me.”
“I’m really proud of Lexi,” Virginia Seabring said. “I’m so delighted she has found a school that fits all the things she was looking for. She wanted a successful lacrosse program but also a community that will be a really good fit for her in terms of academic programs.”
Lexi said she’s considering pursuing psychology, sociology or criminal law in college. Still with a year left to play ADVNC, she has great feelings about the ADVNC Program. “ADVNC has been amazing. I’m always so excited to go to practice every day. Our community is so tight. Even with both the younger and older girls, it’s such a fun group of people and everybody has the same goals of wanting to push themselves to be their best while still having fun. I love the ADVNC coaching style.”
Looking back on her journey, Lexi has this advice for young players who want to pursue a dream of playing in college. “The biggest thing is you really need to love lacrosse. I think it can be hard to believe in yourself at times, but at the end of the day, if you love it and work for it, it will all pay off. But, you need to be the one pushing yourself. You need to love the game. You need to really have a passion for it. It’s been such a surreal feeling for me to be where I am. So I just say, follow your goals.”