LEWISTON, N.Y. — How did Niagara begin to recruit the best batter in college baseball?

You can call it a stroke of good fortune, great scouting, or incredible luck. When Greg Cullen was a high school sophomore, Purple Eagles head Coach Rob McCoy was scouting a different player on YouTube (who ended up attending an ACC school). The next video on McCoy's queue was Cullen's highlight reel. McCoy saw an undersized shortstop with good mechanics at the plate, and soon after, pounced with a scholarship offer before another Division-I school.

"We took a chance on him," McCoy says. "We were at a point in our program where we needed to take chances on kids early and hope they develop. Trust our evaluation." 

Cullen went to a prospect camp in Rochester, and was immediately smitten with the Purple Eagles program.

"I think it was a perfect fit," he says. "It's close to home. I get to play DI baseball, and I love the atmosphere here. I love the people, everybody's very welcoming. It's been a perfect fit from day one."

Cullen broke the .300 mark as a freshman and sophomore; this season, his average has ballooned to a preposterous .467 clip, leading Division I and its 10,000-plus players.

"It's an honor. There are so many good players out in the country right now. I'm trying to take it pitch-by-pitch. Hopefully I can keep it up," he says.

"We knew he was going to be a good player, but no one can predict that you sign a kid that's going to lead the country in hitting," says McCoy.

Cullen credits his straightforward training regimen for his success this year -- the Penfield native worked out in front of a New York Yankees scout this past winter, and at least five other MLB teams have Cullen on their draft radar.

"Your goal is to play in the MLB someday, but you don't know how realistic that goal really is," says Cullen. "It's exciting to get that opportunity, because not many guys, especially from Rochester, get that opportunity. I'm going to do everything in my power to make that dream become a reality."

Since 2005, eight Niagara players have been taken in the MLB draft, and Cullen hopes to go one step further; no Purple Eagle has made his major-league debut since 1953.