Julks Finds Good Academics, Good Baseball At Bucknell

CHATHAM, Ma. - “I always knew baseball was my calling. It’s been a lifelong goal of mine since I can remember.”

With a commitment to Bucknell, those words continue to ring true for Kobe Julks. His future in the sport will be extended after graduating from St. George’s School this spring.

“Coach told me the only issue was that they only have so many admission spots,” Julks reflected. “So when they gave me a spot I accepted.”

The route to Bucknell was a difficult journey for the 53rd-rated 2022 right-handed pitcher in New England.

“Between Covid and an injury it was a battle,” summed up the 18-year-old, whose recruitment began early in high school.

“It all started my first sophomore year when I visited a couple of schools,” Julks explained. “Then Covid hit when it was just taking off and the season was cancelled. I visited some more in the fall of my junior year and that spring it started to take off again. There were a lot of schools on the radar to see me in the summer. But in my second outing of the summer I got hurt. That made recruiting really hard.”

The latch strain then lingered into senior year of high school.

“I tried to rush PT,” Julks reasoned. “I had visits planned in the fall, but rushing it led to pain and I had to shut down so I didn’t take any visits in the fall because I was supposed to throw.”

Pepperdine, William & Mary, Villanova and Hawaii were the top four potential colleges for Julks, along with Bucknell.

“I started talking with Bucknell in late September or early October,” related the 197th-rated New England senior. “They saw me on a Twitter video and we started texting. I kept sending them video.

“I’d already applied at Bucknell, so it really worked for me. It helped having good grades in terms of getting in.”

The university, located eight hours from home in Lewisburg, Pa., proved to be perfect.

“Throughout my recruitment I wanted to find a school with good academics and good quality Division I baseball where I could succeed at and Bucknell fit that mold,” Julks said. “I’m at a boarding school now that’s not big. It has that community feel and them being a smaller school made it a good fit.”

The availability to major in economics helped the cause for Julks, a 3.8 student that admits his recruitment had some stress.

“I was definitely nervous,” Julks related. “I had opportunities to play some places, I just wasn’t sure they were as good as I was going to find. I just had to control what I could control.

“NEB was super helpful,” Julks added about his travel organization. “I knew, considering my grades, that that would also help put me in a better spot.”

Additionally, PBR played a role in the process, in particular early on.

“I went to the Academic Games the summer going into sophomore year and some schools came to that,” Julks pointed out. “I made a visit following one of those. So PBR helped me when I was young for sure, with knowing where I was at and seeing where I needed to be. It was essential in understanding what I needed to do as a player.”

The 17th-ranked 2022 attending high school in Rhode Island is confident about what he can provide the Patriot League university.

“I definitely can bring leadership to the program,” Julks said. “I’ll bring someone who is not only hard working now, but most importantly has always been a hard worker. I’ve always had goals and a passion to reach them.

“On the field I’ll be someone that throws a lot of strikes, throws three pitches well, goes out and competes and will do what I can to help win games.”

Competing and “getting back into the realm of playing” after missing time with the injury are what Julks is looking forward to the most.

“I want to get back to how it was when we were younger, when nobody worried about themselves,” Julks said. “I’m excited to play for something more than myself.”

To finally make a commitment, admittedly, brought plenty of relief.

“There was a lot of stress, especially with the injury,” Julks said. “Everyone believed in me but there were second thoughts at times. I’m just super happy to know where I'm going. It’s just another path to the major goal.”