Senior baseball captain Jake Cullen was ranked the seventh best player in Massachusetts by the sports website BVM Sports this year. This comes after he ranked during his sophomore year on the website Perfect Game.
Cullen has been playing baseball since he was seven years old. Unlike most young kids who start out playing tee-ball, he started with baseball. He has been a pitcher since he started playing, but he has played all other positions at one point in his career.
Cullen plays for the baseball club New England Baseball (NEB) during the summer months. He has been on this team for three years now, and used to play for the War Dogs and Wolf Pack, but he has always been most comfortable at NEB.
“NEB is for sure my favorite, just the environment and people have been the best,” Cullen said.
Overall, his favorite part about baseball as a whole is the environment, including the players and coaches who have fostered his passion. He has loved baseball since before he started playing by watching the Red Sox play.
“I would say the Red Sox are definitely my favorite team. I grew up watching them,” Cullen said.
Cullen’s passion for baseball has led him to play baseball in college, committing to the University of Rhode Island (URI) where he will be a part of their baseball team. Although multiple colleges reached out to him with an interest in pursuing him as a strong addition to their team, Cullen chose URI because of the environment and benefits they had to offer.
“I chose URI because the coaching staff as well as all the love both the coaches and team showed me. I also had a really good scholarship offer,” Cullen said.
Having scouts watching games and paying attention to the way that Cullen reacts to different situations and how he can be a team leader has taught him that first impressions are huge when it comes to sports.
After finding out about his ranking, Cullen knew he would have to be more competitive and prepared for intense gameplay due to the exposure. He understands that other players from the ranking list will try to get in his head now, and that there will be times where they win against him.
In the offseason, there is a lot that pitchers have to work on, more so than other positions. They have to lift, throw, make sure their arm stays strong, as well as finding different techniques to increase the velocity speed of their fastballs.
Managing academics on top of sports was difficult for Cullen, however, WA’s support system helped him manage athletics and schoolwork. His club team knows and understands that he is a student athlete, especially because a lot of the coaches are younger and were in his position just years before.
At WA, Cullen is also the quarterback for the varsity football team. He uses this time as a break from baseball in the off-season, but also as a way to keep his arms in shape.
Living a life as action-packed and busy as Cullen’s, it is important to have family support and guidance when it’s needed. He is grateful that his family does everything they can to help him be successful.
“I would get home late after NEB workouts and they would always have food on the table for me showing their support,” Cullen said.
In the future, Cullen has the goal of being in Major League Baseball (MLB), and has been working towards that for most of his life. He has been reaching out to pro scouts for when he plays in college, and will continue working towards his ultimate goal, which the ranking definitely helped with.
Cullen is on track to pursue his goal of playing baseball professionally. He has kept the same mindset throughout his high school career, and encourages others to do the same.
“Work hard. Don’t just do something that you’re not going to enjoy. It will bring you down, do what you love and don’t take anything personal,” Cullen said.
