Given a Chance, Balcarcel Living Pro Dream While Honoring Eddie Coombs

Marist fans' rabid support for California Redwoods midfielder Josh Balcarcel has taken the Premier Lacrosse League by storm.

Even before Balcarcel became the first player in school history to score a professional goal, the undrafted rookie’s jersey sales soared to the top of the PLL best-sellers list — and fans sporting the Red Fox’s colors have shown out to all of his games, from Albany to Charlotte.

“The Marist lacrosse program is very tight knit,” Balcarcel said. “Coach [Keegan] Wilkinson and Coach [Dave] Scarcello and the Coombs’ family, they’ve really helped set a great foundation and a great base for the program to where the alumni and current players have a real connection, so I wasn't surprised at all to get all the support.”

During his last two seasons at Marist, Balcarcel was elected to wear No. 34.

The number is given to a senior who best exemplifies the on- and off-field attributes of late midfielder Eddie Coombs, who tragically died in a car accident in 2011. Right after Coombs’ death, his father, Eric, said the number was given to the player who worked the hardest that week in practice, but the honor only grew from there.

After the Coombs family presented the jersey to Balcarcel, he chose to keep the No. 34 when he earned a spot on the Redwoods. Balcarcel said he still gets goosebumps when he talks about the moment he earned the number.

This year, he was able to repay the Coombs’ generosity back to them.

“His father called and left me a message and told me that he made the team and was going to wear number 34, and it just … filled my heart,” Eric Coombs said. “It’s kind of bittersweet, because it’s a tribute to Edward. It’s really hard to put into words, talking about a kid that never met Edward, and his love for Edward is just so evident in everything he does.”

Both Scarcello, who also wore No. 34, and Coombs' parents said that Balcarcel gave them “flashbacks” to Eddie’s commitment and drive to the program.

“The team felt that, too,” Tina Coombs said. “They saw that he emulated Edwards’ drive and commitment to the game and commitment to the team.”

Despite only starting four games during his freshman season, Coombs caused the second-most turnovers on the team (16) on top of recording 25 ground balls and one goal in the Red Fox’s upset over No. 16 UAlbany.

“These guys get to see it in the highlights that still exist on YouTube of Eddie, but having only played one year, you could only imagine what he would have done in the later years of his career,” Scarcello said. “They get to see that when guys represent the number 34.” 

The moment it became evident to Marist’s coaching staff and the Coombs family that Balcarcel was the right choice to wear No. 34 was during his performance against Siena in the 2023 MAAC championship game.

Balcarcel finished with a hat trick and an assist, but there was a specific play that caught their eyes.

“He split a double team to start the possession on our defensive side,” Scarcello said. “Ran past two poles as he crossed the midline … and ended up getting right down through the middle of the field and ended it with a diving goal as he was approaching the crease.”

Both Tina and Eric Coombs were in the stands for that game. Eric approached Wilkinson and said, “He’s special.”

“That year when they were talking about who should wear number 34, I said to coach, ‘It’s obvious that it has to be Josh,’” Eric Coombs said. “And he said, ‘That’s great because that’s who we picked, too.’”

Balcarcel finished his Marist career with 76 goals, 49 assists and 66 ground balls. He was selected to the All-MAAC first team in 2024 and the All-MAAC championship team in 2023 after helping Marist beat Siena in the conference championship game.

His last season at Marist ended in a heartbreaking 15-14 loss to Siena in the MAAC semifinals, and Balcarcel immediately thought his career was over. Before the start of his fifth season, Balcarcel and Scarcello thought that if he strung together a career-best year, the PLL would come knocking. But an early season injury plagued his production, and Balcarcel thought he would miss out on the opportunity.  

He was set to graduate on Friday, May 23, before the start of PLL training camp that same weekend. Just a couple days before he would walk, Redwoods general manager Joe Spallina asked Scarcello if Balcarcel could make the trip. Already knowing the answer, Scarcello asked Balcarcel if he could skip graduation to join the Redwoods in Albany.

“A couple of days before that call, he’s thinking, ‘My career is over,’” Scarcello said. “So for this now to be the case where he’s in the gameday lineup for the first three weeks of the season, it's a dream come true for him. It was very cool to be able to tell him that and for him to essentially prove us right.”

As a staple on the Redwoods’ second midfield line, Balcarcel has recorded four goals in the first three games. Taking after his favorite player growing up, Jordan Wolf, Balcarcel’s quick feet have posed problems for short-stick matchups. His play style has also complemented California’s fast-paced offense and personnel, which include another rookie midfielder with a similar dodging skill set in No. 2-overall pick Andrew McAdorey.

Since being thrust into the limelight after making the Redwoods, Balcarcel has made an effort to stay focused on his craft despite the experience he’s called a “fever dream.”

“I’ve been really enjoying all the support and all the people reaching out, but it can be distracting,” Balcarcel said. “I like to think of it all as a bonus because I’m here to play lacrosse and play for the Redwoods and help the team in any way to win games.”

For Eric and Tina Coombs, the attention that Balcarcel’s performances have brought to their son’s story has been beyond what they could have possibly hoped for.

“It’s surreal. I never could imagine that this would have this momentum,” Tina Coombs said. “For Josh to speak on wearing that number 34 and to say Edward’s name and to hear it carried throughout the news media is just something that just takes my breath away.”

After Coombs’ passing, his family started the Edward Taylor Coombs Foundation, a non-profit that has provided over $1 million in scholarships since 2011. Eddie’s sister, Erin, has hosted seminars at local high schools in the greater-Philadelphia area to promote responsible decision-making in young people.

The foundation also gifted the Edward Taylor Coombs classroom at Marist, which opened in September of 2024 in honor of Eddie’s commitment to his academics. You can learn more or support the foundation at etcfoundation34.org.