James Cullinane was named the Royals associate head coach and hitting coach in the summer of 2023 following a season at the helm of Northeastern State University.
The San Francisco, California native stepped into a head coaching role for the River Hawks in 2023 following the departure of Royals head coach Jake Hendricks to Austin Peay. In his inaugural season, Northeastern State posted a 25-28 overall record while tying their program best with a third-place finish in the MIAA Tournament. The River Hawks landed nine All-MIAA selections, one All-Central Region selection, and one All-MIAA Tournament selection. The program handled its business in the classroom with a 3.16 cumulative GPA.
Â
Prior to leading the squad, Cullinane was the hitting coach for the River Hawks from 2021-2023. In that span, the River Hawks set program records in doubles, triples, home runs, runs scored, slugging percentage, and stolen bases. In 2022, Northeastern State was the only Division 2 program, one of two programs across the entire NCAA to hit 120 doubles and 120 home runs while swiping 130 bases. The 123 home runs during that season were an MIAA single-season record. One of Cullinane's recruits Brock Reller shattered countless NSU single-season batting marks en route to earning the program's second consensus All-American nod.
Â
Cullinane broke into the coaching realm in 2018 as the assistant hitting coach at the University of Minnesota Crookston. Following one season as the assistant, Cullinane was promoted to the lead hitting coach. In 2020, the Golden Eagles were one of the most prolific offenses across Division 2. UMC ranked 19th in the country sporting a .324 batting average and the 14th-highest slugging percentage at .527. The Golden Eagles flooded the base paths with a .415 on-base percentage, the 28th best in the country. Under Cullinane's oversight, the Golden Eagles tripled their on-base plus slugging percentage to .942, the 13th best nationwide.
Â
Prior to coaching, Cullinane played two seasons at Minnesota Crookston and was a part of the program's All-Decade Team as he ranks top 10 in four offensive categories. Before transferring to Minnesota Crookston, Cullinane spent two seasons at the City College of San Francisco. He earned his degree from the University of Minnesota Crookston in 2018.
