17-year-old pitcher becomes first female athlete drafted to Ontario men's varsity team

Julia Joudoin was nine years old when she first picked up a baseball glove in her hometown of Sudbury, Ont.

Now 17, Joudoin has a long list of athletic accomplishments under her belt, including a spot on Team Ontario 21U where she was named most valuable player.

But her latest achievement is one for the history books: this September, she’ll become the first female athlete in Ontario University Athletics to compete on a men’s varsity team.

“It feels really great knowing that my hard work has paid off,” she told CTV Northern Ontario on Tuesday.

Joudoin will pitch for Laurentian University’s baseball team while she completes a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. It’s the first year the university has fielded a baseball team.

Coach Brodie Jeffery said Joudoin’s talent was clear during tryouts.

“She was definitely somebody that stood out amongst all the other student athletes that I get to talk to and I was excited to get to know her more and the more I got to know her it was no doubt that she was going to be a part of Laurentian,” he said.

Jeffery praised Joudoin’s work ethic and talent and insisted that she’ll be treated the same as her peers.

“The guys will be welcoming and understanding and excited to have her as part of the program,” he said.

Joudoin admits she has butterflies going into the fall, but she’s excited to get out on the field.

“I’m nervous in some ways but I’m not scared. I know I can hold my own and I have something to prove just as much as they do,” she said.

With a report from CTV Northern Ontario