During the winter, Evan James is an unassuming defensive basketball player — the type that is easily overlooked on a scoresheet. Come spring on the lacrosse field, however, he is tough to miss. 

The Dublin Coffman (Ohio) senior set program records for points and goals scored in a single season to lead the Shamrocks to their first state championship. Given his outstanding performance, James has been named the Warrior/US Lacrosse Midwest Boys’ Player of the Year.

“I don’t think I could have drawn up a better end to my career,” he said. “Setting records and scoring the goals were fun, but I would trade it all in for a state championship.”

James’ stats were among the top in the region. He notched 85 goals among his 120 points scored in 2019, and over his four seasons at Dublin Coffman, he became the first player in school history to amass 300 points (301). 

The standout attackman led a talented senior class, which included team assist leader Ethan Tyack. The two combined on many goals, as Tyack finished with 40 tallies and 37 helpers.

“The cool part about [winning a state title] was being able to do it with guys that I have played with since the first grade,” James said. “This senior class has been together since we were in third grade. The fact that we were able to do what people have only talked about, no one has done before, was pretty special.” 

While James was impressive all year long, it was his play during the postseason that stood out most. Coffman’s six-game run to the state title included matches against Ohio stalwarts Cincinnati St. Xavier and Cleveland St. Ignatius, and he scored 11 of his 34 postseason goals against them. In the state title game against St. X, James found the back of the net five times, and in the state semifinals against St. Ignatius, he scored eight goals. 

St. Xavier won last year’s state title by defeating St. Ignatius. 

“They have been owning Ohio lacrosse and then this team, Dublin Coffman that no one has heard of, comes in and wins,” James said. “St. Iggy and St. Xavier are really strong programs. … It was cool being public versus private; our coaches loved that because we played with a chip on our shoulders.” 

The win over St. Ignatius avenged a state semifinal loss from 2018. It was a game that left a bitter taste in James’ mouth, considering his team lost by one. 

Until his senior year, James was a midfielder, but he made the transition to attack because of vacancies in the Shamrocks’ unit this season. He was offensive-minded as a midfielder, using the crease to dodge behind the goal, so the transition was seamless. James said it only took a couple of games to adjust.

Going immediately from basketball to lacrosse early in the spring as a two-sport athlete also helped him.

“It really helped me in lacrosse vision-wise, work-wise, changing direction-wise — playing basketball played a huge role in that,” he said. “I love basketball. If it wasn’t lacrosse, it was basketball.”

WARRIOR/US LACROSSE
MIDWEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
EVAN JAMES

School: Dublin Coffman (Ohio)

Year: Senior

Position: Attackman

Stats: 85 goals, 35 assists

Quotable: “I was able to work from behind the goal a lot and from the wing. I am not a big guy, but I play with speed and change direction a lot to get around my defender. I am not a big bully that lowers my shoulder.” 

For James, lacrosse has been a family affair. Not only did his father play, but his two older siblings did as well. James’ father has coached him since he was young. 

“My father played at Thomas Worthington (Ohio) on their team and went to play at Ohio Wesleyan, so obviously lacrosse was a huge part of his life — still is,” James said. “I have been playing my entire life thanks to my dad. He has been a huge part of my career, and I really owe it all to him for introducing me to the game and showing me how awesome it is. He coached all of us since we were in the first grade.”

With high school behind him, James is enrolling at Loyola in the fall with an interest in business. A smaller student body in combination with Loyola’s coaching staff drew James to the university.

Now, he looks forward to that next step in his career.

“I wanted a smaller school,” James said. “I wasn’t into the big Ohio States or Big Tens, and Loyola was a perfect fit. I love the guys and the coaching staff.”