“I actually liked football more in high school than I did baseball, but I wasn't going to be good enough to go beyond high school, " McCullough said. “I loved baseball too, that was going to give me a much clearer path to continue playing beyond high school.” 

     During his time at Rose, McCullough was coached by Ronald Vincent, who left a big impact on him not only as a player but as a person. 

     “I learned from Ronald Vincent what being a servant leader was all about,” said McCullough. “Whenever you wanted to go hit, whenever you wanted to go to the field, it didn't matter if it was Saturday, RV would always show up, and as a student athlete at that time was very eye-opening for me.”

     After graduating from Rose, McCullough was selected in the 47th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the Seattle Mariners, However, he ultimately decided to put his professional career on hold to play baseball collegiately.

     “I ultimately wanted to be able to play professional baseball and have a chance to go to the major leagues, but at 18 years old, I didn't think I was physically mature enough and ready to go start a pro career,” McCullough said. "The time in college would allow me to get a lot stronger, become more physical, and also be able to use that time playing against some really good competition and improve my game.”

     This decision led McCullough to take his baseball career to the next level at Vanderbilt University for his freshman year before moving back to Greenville, where he played at East Carolina University (ECU) until the 2002 MLB Draft. 

     “Everyone's path, I believe, works out for a reason, and coming back to East Carolina were three of the best years of my life,” McCullough said. 

     McCullough still cherishes the experiences that ECU brought him both on and off the field.

     “Some of my best friends to this day were college teammates of mine, being able to share that experience with them, having a lot of success there on the teams we were on,” McCullough said. “Those are important years as a young person, as you mature, experiment, and I was able to do it around a lot of friends and family, being from Greenville.”

     After his time at ECU, the Cleveland Indians selected McCullough as the 22nd pick of the 2002 MLB draft. He played for the Indians’ Minor league team for three years. In 2005 McCullough decided it was time to pursue a different career. 

     “At that time, I was 25 and I knew that my chances of playing in the major leagues were very slim,” McCullough Said. “So I went back to school, got my degree when I was 25, and I was a volunteer assistant at East Carolina for the baseball team while I got my degree.”

     McCullough began to fall in love with coaching and eventually landed a job with the Toronto Blue Jays, coaching their Rookie ball team in 2006, where he spent the next nine years.

     “It was kind of an easy choice for me when I was done playing to think about what was next for me,” McCullough said. “I wanted to continue with doing something in baseball, and coaching was something I felt like that I would really enjoy.”

     McCullough continued to move up the coaching ladder from that point forward. He spent some time as a roving instructor, traveling to minor league affiliates and helping to ensure baseball skills and fundamentals were taught correctly. After that, McCullough got a job as a field coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. This new opportunity played a pivotal role in his career.  

     “That job was probably the most critical thing I've done; I was around some of the best leaders in baseball,” McCullough said. “I oversaw pretty much anything going on the field with the Dodgers and the minor leagues, so it was a different level of leadership I had to take on.” 

     This role eventually led McCullough to land a job as the manager of the Miami Marlins in the fall of 2024. McCullough still currently holds this position and is creating his own team culture and identity through his coaching. 

     “Just finishing my first year as a Major League Manager, a big part of what I wanted our team to be was incredibly consistent with how they approach each day: relentless," McCullough said. "[My philosophy is] don't make excuses [and] look for ways to be problem solvers."

     As McCullough continues to prosper in his coaching career, he is using some valuable lessons he learned in his high school years at Rose. 

     “The thing about Rose, for the sports teams I was on, there was always an expectation of winning,” McCullough said. “You had a lot of people that were counting on you, and you had to play where there was a little bit of pressure there, but pressure is a privilege.”

      Though McCullough now resides in Florida, he will continue to hold a special place in his heart for not only the city of Greenville, but good old Rose High. 

     “I still have a lot of pride from being from Greenville and playing at J.H. Rose,” McCullough said. “Greenville will always be home, and J.H. Rose will always be very near and dear to me.”