James Cullinane

James Cullinane joined the Queens Royals’ baseball staff in summer 2023, stepping into the role of associate head coach, recruiting coordinator, and hitting coach. He came aboard after serving as head coach of Northeastern State University (NSU), where, in his first season, the River Hawks posted a 25–28 record, tied a program best by finishing third in the MIAA Tournament, and produced nine All-MIAA selections along with one All-Central Region and one All-MIAA Tournament pick, while managing a 3.16 cumulative team GPA. Before assuming that head role, Cullinane was the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at NSU from 2021 to 2023. During that period, the program set school records in multiple offensive categories — doubles, triples, home runs, slugging, runs scored, and stolen bases. In the 2022 season, NSU hit 123 home runs (an MIAA single-season record) while also reaching 120+ doubles and over 130 stolen bases, one of only two NCAA programs to do so that year. Cullinane’s coaching career began at the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC), where he served first as assistant hitting coach and then as lead hitting coach. In 2020, under his leadership, UMC produced an offense that ranked 19th nationally in batting average (.324) and 14th in slugging percentage (.527), while also reaching a .415 on-base percentage — culminating in a .942 OPS. As a player, Cullinane competed two seasons at Minnesota Crookston (after transferring from City College of San Francisco), becoming part of UMC’s All-Decade Team and ranking among the top 10 in multiple offensive categories. He earned his degree from Minnesota Crookston in 2018.