Hall of Fame
Position: Infielder
USF Career Years: 1998-2001
Hometown: Denver, CO
Career Highlights: Three-time 1st Team All American; NCAA statistical leader in slugging percentage; broke all time WCC conference Home Run record; Named one of Top 50 Athletes in WCC history
Robert Tanios Taggert “Tagg” Bozied was born on July 24, 1979, in Sioux Falls, SD. He was the son of Bob Bozied, a college football coach, and grew up understanding the importance of team work. He attended Arvada High School in Arvada, CO, where he played football, baseball and basketball. At 6’ 3, 225 lbs., he was named to the Class 4A All-State football team and had a 4.0 GPA. He attended USF and in 1999 won a Triple Crown in the WCC, earning Player of the Year Honors. He hit .412 with 30 home runs and 82 RBI. He led the Conference record with 71 runs, batted .936, the highest mark in the NCAA Division, and tied for the second-most home runs. Baseball America named him the Second-Team All-American, and he was named a First-Team 3rd Baseman Collegiate Baseball All-American. His junior year, his numbers fell to .359 with 14 home runs, and 52 RBIs in 2000, but he made All-Conference at 3rd base. His senior year, he hit .335 with 12 home runs, 20 steals, and 21 runs. He once again was named to the All-Conference team, and USF retired his number #19. He graduated with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration.
Why Bozied Chose USF: "I chose USF because of the elite opportunity to play baseball on the Hilltop."
Favorite USF Memories: “My favorites memories involve my coaches. Nino Giarratano and Troy Nakamura were the two most influential non-family members in my life. They are USF to me."
The USF Student-Athlete Experience: “Goals. Sacrifices. Strong sense of community."
Life after USF: Bozied was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 50th Round of the 1997 MLB Amateur Draft, but did not sign. After his junior year at USF, he was again picked by Minnesota in the 2nd Round of the MLB 2000 Amateur Draft, but after negotiations fell through, he signed with the Independent Sioux Falls Canaries for the 2001 season. In 2002 he signed with the Padres and played with the Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm, and hit .298/.377/.546 with 15 home runs as their main First Baseman. That earned him a promotion to the Double-A Mobile Bay Bears where he hit .214/.268/.389 in 60 games. Overall, he made 24 home runs and 92 RBI.
By 2003, Bozied was playing full-time in Triple-A, with the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League. In 2004, he hit a game-winning grand slam to give Portland a win over the Tacoma Raiders, but ruptured his left patellar tendon and was hospitalized. He had knee problems throughout 2005, which likely kept him out of the Majors. In 2006, he joined the New York Mets and played for the Norfolk Tides as an Outfielder. In 2007, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and played with the Memphis Redbirds. In 2008, he joined the Florida Marlins, and was second in home runs and RBIs for the Albuquerque Isotopes. In 2009 he played briefly for the Chinese Professional League in Taiwan, and then signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates for their Triple-A Club. Later that year, he moved to the Philadelphia Phillies, was named Easter League Player of the Week in August, 2010, playing for the Reading Phillies. In 2001 he played for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
He retired in 2012, to launch a technology company with partners. He spent three years building an app geared towards baseball fans, and was mentored by the CEO of ActiVision. He was named to the Father Hub Flynn Hall of Fame in 2022. In March 2020, in Las Vegas, he was inducted into the WCC Hall of Fame with his friends and family in attendance, and was called "one of the best power hitters in WCC and in USF history,” by his coach, friend and mentor, Troy Nakamura.
Tagg participated in alumni events for USF whenever possible. In Sept 2020, he was interviewed by Frank Allocco on the USF Don's Athletic YouTube Channel highlighting the lives and commitments of the sons and daughters of USF. He moved to Lake Elsinore in southern California as a Director of Marketing, where he strategically led the venue hosting nearly 100 events per year, including 70+ professional baseball events. He also promoted community development and outreach liaison for the Inland Empire. In 2016, after spending 15 years away, Tagg moved back home to Colorado to support his family, working as a media strategist for a global cloud service IT infrastructure company.
