I Was a College Walk-On But Got Drafted Out of High School - How Does That Happen?
In 1997, I was drafted in the 51st round by the Minnesota Twins. That's about as close to not being drafted as you can get while still technically being drafted. It's the kind of pick where the scout calls and you can hear in his voice that he's reading your name off a list he's not particularly excited about.
I was a kid from Colorado. I could hit. I believed that with everything I had. But I wasn't from California, Texas, or Florida - the states where college coaches spend most of their recruiting time because the talent density is so much higher. Colorado in the late '90s wasn't producing Division I prospects on anyone's radar. If you were a good player from a cold-weather state, you had to go find the opportunity yourself.
I didn't sign out of high school. Instead, I committed as a walk-on to the University of San Francisco. No scholarship. No guarantee. Just a spot at the bottom of a roster where I had to earn everything.
Three years later, the same organization - the Minnesota Twins - selected me in the second round, 42nd overall, in the 2000 MLB Draft. I went on to play 11 years of professional baseball.
So how does that happen? How does a kid go from a 51st-round afterthought to a second-round pick by the same team three years later? The answer isn't one thing. It's several things that aligned - some in my control, and some that required a little luck.
The Business Nobody Tells You About
Here's something most families don't understand about college baseball until they're deep into the recruiting process: Division I programs are only allotted 11.7 scholarships for their entire roster. That roster typically carries 35 or more players. Most players - even really good ones - are on partial scholarships or no scholarship at all.
This is the reality of college baseball, and it creates enormous gaps between talent and opportunity. There are walk-ons who will become All-Conference players and scholarship guys who won't make it past sophomore year. The system doesn't sort talent perfectly. It sorts it based on who was seen, where they were seen, and how much money the program had left when they found them.
When I walked on at USF, there were scholarship guys I knew - knew in my bones - I could outhit. That's not arrogance. It's the reality of a system where a kid from Colorado doesn't get the same recruiting exposure as a kid from Southern California who played in front of 50 scouts every summer. My job was to make the scholarship gap irrelevant.
Finding the Right Coach
This is the part of my story that changed everything, and it's the advice I give to every family I work with: finding the right coach matters more than finding the right school.
I was fortunate to learn hitting from a coach who was, frankly, a hitting guru. He studied hitting at a depth most coaches at that level never touch. And he didn't care that I was a walk-on. He cared about one thing - how serious was I about getting better?
That was a question I could answer. I was in the cage before anyone else and the last one to leave. I asked questions constantly. I didn't just take reps - I took intentional reps. Every swing had a purpose. I treated my development like a job before anyone was paying me to play.
And that coach invested in me because of it. He saw a kid who wasn't going to waste his time, and he poured knowledge into me that fundamentally changed how I understood hitting. He taught me to trust the process and stop measuring myself against the recruiting rankings that had overlooked me.
[GRAPHIC: Two-way street visual - one side labeled "Player Commitment" (intentional practice, showing up early, asking questions, coachability) and the other labeled "Coach Investment" (knowledge transfer, belief, advocacy, opportunity). Arrows flowing both directions. Caption: "Success is a two-way street."]
The Two-Way Street
This is the concept I think about most when I work with young players. Success at the college level - and beyond - is a two-way street. The player has to bring commitment that is visible, undeniable, and consistent. The coach has to be willing to invest regardless of the recruiting label attached to them.
I've seen this play out hundreds of times. Players with enormous talent who show up expecting the scholarship to carry them. They don't put in extra work. Those players stall because they're waiting for someone to hand them the next level.
Then there are the walk-ons who show up with something to prove every day. They make it impossible for the coaching staff to ignore them. They earn reps through work so relentless that coaches feel invested in their success. That investment leads to better coaching, more opportunity, and results that speak for themselves.
By my sophomore year, I won the WCC Triple Crown - hitting .412 with 30 home runs and 82 RBI. I finished 10 homers ahead of the runner-up, a guy named Jason Bay who went on to have a pretty decent big league career. My .936 slugging percentage was the highest in all of Division I that year. I was named WCC Player of the Year, a Collegiate Baseball All-American, and earned a spot on the USA National Team. By the time my career at USF was over, they retired my number. None of that was on my resume when I walked on campus. All of it was built through the relationship between my commitment and a coach who matched it.
What This Means for You
If you're a young player reading this - especially one from Colorado or another state that doesn't get the recruiting spotlight - hear this clearly: your geography is not your ceiling. Your scholarship status is not your talent level. The draft round you come out of does not define what you're capable of becoming.
What defines you is how you show up. Are you the first one in the cage? Are you asking questions or just taking swings? Are you studying your craft with intensity that makes a coach want to invest their time? That's how the gap between talent and opportunity gets closed - not by waiting for someone to notice you, but by making it impossible for them not to.
[IMAGE: Tagg during professional career - batting or in the field. Caption: "From the 51st round to a second-round pick. The path isn't always straight."]
The other side of this is finding the right fit. When you're evaluating programs, look beyond the facilities and the conference name. Ask yourself: does this coaching staff develop hitters? Do walk-ons earn playing time here? Is the coach someone who will invest in my growth if I show them I'm worth it?
Those questions matter more than the scholarship number. A 50% scholarship with a coach who transforms your game is worth more than a full ride somewhere you'll never develop.
At Slammers, this is the foundation of our recruiting and college placement program. We don't just help players get seen - we help them become the kind of player that coaches want to invest in. Our 47 college commits in 2024 with a 95% placement rate aren't built on hype. They're built on development.
If you want to know where you stand right now, our Swing Signature Report gives you objective, measurable feedback that lets you train with purpose every session. That's how you show up on day one of college ball ready to compete - whether you're on scholarship or walking on.
The Long Game
I walked on at USF with no scholarship and a 51st-round draft status that meant nothing to anyone. Three years later, the same organization came back and made me a second-round pick. The difference wasn't talent - I had the talent when I got there. The difference was finding a coach who matched my commitment, putting in work that couldn't be ignored, and understanding that the path doesn't follow a straight line for most people.
It didn't for me. And if you're willing to do the work, it doesn't have to for you either.
[IMAGE: Closing shot - Slammers players in training. Caption: "The path isn't always straight. But the work is always the same."]
Tagg Bozied was drafted in the 51st round by the Minnesota Twins in 1997 and walked on at the University of San Francisco, where he won the WCC Triple Crown (.412, 30 HR, 82 RBI), was named WCC Player of the Year and a Collegiate Baseball All-American, and had his #19 retired. The Twins selected him again in the second round (42nd overall) in 2000. He played 11 years of professional baseball across six MLB organizations and was inducted into the WCC Hall of Fame in 2020. He now coaches and develops players at Slammers Baseball Academy in Colorado.
