FIU Softball Head Coach Makes Emotional Return Amid Cancer Battle
Florida International head coach Mike Larabee didn't know when this day would come. The last time he was at practice was Jan. 18.
That day, Larabee gathered his team and after practice and revealed his cancer diagnosis would force him to miss the entire 2025 season.
Larabee explained he had myelofibrosis, a rare and chronic blood cancer that scars the bone marrow, and the toll it was taking on his body was just too much.
On Wednesday, he was back on the field with the Panthers.
Great to have Coach Bee around again and we’re playing for him all season long 💯#PlayForBee https://t.co/pxebrX79Hd pic.twitter.com/jU0tJEIO7n
— FIU Softball (@FIUSoftball) April 23, 2025
"When you get around (the team) and they're bringing energy, it gives me energy," Larabee said after practice. "I'm still going through the process with the cancer diagnosis, but overall, I feel really good. They cleared me to come out, and I want to be with this team to finish out strong this year. I want to thank so many people, Panther Nation, parents, current and former players, whose prayers have made a huge difference in my health. It's on a positive upswing right now, and their prayers have definitely worked."
Larabee told the Miami Herald in January it was a “shock” when he was diagnosed in July, and the only cure is a bone marrow transplant, which has 80 percent survival odds.
The 63-year-old's journey began in April 2024 when there was a pain in his side. Larabee went to the doctor, who revealed broken ribs, which was puzzling because he hadn't been hit in that area. Doctors ran more tests and determined the diagnosis.
The Panthers have been playing for something much bigger than a game. Several can be spotted with bracelets reading "PFB' which stands for Play For Bee.
With just two conference series left in the season, FIU is 29-17 overall and 11-10 in Conference-USA. The Panthers are in fifth place and are set to play Western Kentucky in a three-game series before finishing the season against the first-place Liberty Flames.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.