PULLMAN — Some athletes are born with talent, others acquire it over time, but every athlete must put in long hours of hard work to achieve greatness.

Washington State freshman and North Kitsap High School alumnus Jared Prince has been proving that theory since high school and now his dedication on the college diamond is earning him a multitude of dropped jaws, including that of WSU head coach Donnie Marbut.

“From this point on, I’ll never count him out on anything, he has a will to succeed and will to win that goes beyond his athletic abilities,” Marbut said of the fiery freshman. “I wish I could explain … I’ve never coached a player like him.”

Prince noted that upon arrival in Pullman last fall, he was back at square one, knowing that it would take more hard work than ever before in order to succeed at the next level. During the winter, the latest Viking high school hero humbly transformed from the leader’s role back to that of a pupil.

“The winter was huge for me, I came in way behind everybody else. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing at the plate,” Prince said, adding that he was an athletic hitter but needed work on the technical aspects. “So I tried to soak up as much as I could and tried to learn from the best.”

Now he is executing those lessons learned from Coug leaders like Jay Miller to the fullest.

Twenty games into the season, on the cusp of conference play, Prince is leading the Pac-10 in batting average, hitting .449. He has racked up a total 35 hits on the year with an impressive 11 doubles. And he leads the team with 26 RBIs while playing in right field.

“We brought him in as a pitcher first, hitter second, but with what he has done offensively, it’s been hard to figure out when to pitch him,” Marbut noted.

When Prince does find his way to the mound, the dominance hasn’t stopped.

He is 3-0 as a starter and has yet to allow an earned run in 18 innings pitched. He’s dished out 14 strikeouts without surrendering a single walk to any of the 66 batters he has faced thus far.

With the help of Prince’s performance, the WSU pitching staff is also leading the Pac-10 in ERA according to the latest conference stats. The Cougar staff ERA of 3.22 places them ahead of both UCLA (3.44) and Oregon State (3.56).

“It feels good, but I’ve got a long way to go,” Prince said as he humbly acknowledged his breakout performance. “I’m more happy that we are winning. I see this program taking huge steps and I just want to be a part of that.”

“I’ve never seen a kid make such an impression on a team as Jared has,” Marbut said. “He’s a better person than he is a player and that’s what I like about him. He’s as good of a teammate as you are going to find.”

Prince said he has acclimated well to his new team and noted that the experience has been great. His immediate goals are now focused on continuation and improvement while keeping the Cougs invigorated.

“I like to be that energy guy, bring a little spark, a little enthusiasm to the club,” Prince said. “The guys call me a little overzealous, but that’s alright.”

Washington State currently owns an 18-6 record and is set to play Stanford in its first Pac-10 match-up today. Check back with the Herald for updates of how Prince and the Cougs fair during the remainder of the season.