Young Redondo Beach Baseball Star Plays On CBS This Weekend

REDONDO BEACH, CA — For many, finding a passion at 12 years old was out of the picture, but for Julien Cojulun it's normal. An honors student at Parras Middle School, Cojulun balances school with traveling the world to play baseball. Cojulun has dual French citizenship thanks to his mother Christine Cojulun-Barot, which allowed him to play for the National French 12 and Under team in the 2017 European Championships in Netherlands.

Although he's resting and spending time with his friends this week, Cojulun-Barot said, he's getting ready to fly out to New York to play in the National Youth Baseball (NYB) All-Star game this Friday, July 28. Cojulun was selected by NYB as one of the top 15 players in the West region for the 12 and Under division.

"Julien has always worked hard and has been surrounded by great coaches who have always encouraged him and taught him the game of baseball," Cojulun-Barot said.

Cojulun plays multiple positions, including pitcher, shortstop, second base, and third base, but he "can pretty much play anything," he said. He's had many "all star" moments in baseball, including hitting a grand slam with bases loaded, and he even played a game with stitches in his lip; his hard work really sets him apart from other players, Coach Cole Butler said.

"After coaching him for four years and still to this day, every day we work together he loves to be out there in the baseball field," Butler said. "A lot of kids his age start to stray away, but he works hard every day and doesn’t take any day for granted."

Julien wants to play in the "major leagues" when he grows up, but for now, he tries to balance baseball and school the best he can, mentioning that he'll "take time off from baseball" if he needs more time to do his homework. While Cojulun doesn't get nervous anymore for regular season games, the "big games" can give him butterflies.

"The game on Friday that will be on T.V. makes me more nervous because a lot of people will watch," Cojulun said, "but it’ll also be more fun because it’ll be a bigger game than usu."

After the New York All-Star game, he'll be headed to Cooperstown in early August for a week-long competition, Cojulun-Barot said. To watch Cojulun in the upcoming National Youth Baseball game, tune into CBS Sportsnet on Friday, July 28 at 1o a.m. PST, or stream it live on mlb.com.

Photos provided by Christine Cojulun-Barot