Born in
Willingboro Township, New Jersey, Zagunis grew up in
Riverton, New Jersey and attended
Holy Cross High School in
Delran Township, New Jersey. He played for the school's baseball team as a
catcher, and as the
quarterback for the school's
American football team. He was not selected in the
Major League Baseball (MLB) draft out of high school. Zagunis enrolled at
Virginia Tech to play
college baseball for the
Virginia Tech Hokies baseball team. As a freshman, Zagunis was named to the All-
Atlantic Coast Conference's (ACC) Second Team, and a Freshman
All-American. In his junior year, he batted .330 with two home runs and 39 RBI in 53 games. He was named to the All-ACC's Second Team and was a semifinalist for the
Johnny Bench Award, given to the best catcher in college baseball.
Chicago Cubs The
Chicago Cubs selected Zagunis in the third round of the
2014 MLB draft. He signed with the Cubs, receiving a $615,000
signing bonus. Zagunis began his professional career with the
Arizona Cubs of the
Rookie-level Arizona League, before he was promoted to the
Boise Hawks of the Rookie-level
Pioneer League. With the Hawks, the Cubs deployed Zagunis as a
left fielder in addition to catcher. The Cubs promoted him to the
Kane County Cougars of the
Single-A Midwest League to finish the season. In 2015, the Cubs assigned Zagunis to the
Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the
High-A Carolina League. The Cubs had Zagunis focus exclusively on playing in the
outfield, and Zagunis was named a Carolina League All-Star at midseason. Zagunis began the 2016 season with the
Tennessee Smokies of the
Double-A Southern League, and earned a promotion to the
Iowa Cubs of the
Triple-A Pacific Coast League in June. He finished the 2016 season batting .288 with 10 home runs and 49 RBI's. Zagunis began the 2017 season with the
Iowa Cubs, and was called up to the major leagues on June 22, 2017, following an injury to outfielder
Jason Heyward. He made his MLB debut that day, going 0-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base against the
Miami Marlins. He finished his debut year with no hits in 18 plate appearances across 7 games. In 97 games for Iowa, he hit .267/.404/.455 with 13 home runs and 55 RBI. Zagunis spent the majority of the 2018 season in Iowa, hitting .272/.395/.375 in 115 games, also going 2-for-5 in 5 big league games for Chicago. In 2019, Zagunis appeared in 30 games for the Cubs, hitting .250/.325/.333 with no home runs and 5 RBI. On August 20, 2019, he was optioned down to the
Triple-A Iowa Cubs. On August 31, Zagunis was
designated for assignment. He finished the year in Iowa, slashing .294/.361/.475 with 6 home runs and 43 RBI in 68 games. Zagunis opted out of the shortened 2020 season due to concerns regarding the
COVID-19 pandemic. On October 22, 2020, Zagunis was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He became a free agent on November 2.
Lancaster Barnstormers On March 8, 2022, Zagunis signed with the
Lancaster Barnstormers of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He appeared in 20 games for Lancaster, batting .203/.351/.271 with 1 home run and 5 RBI. With Lancaster, Zagunis won the Atlantic League championship. He became a free agent following the season. ==Personal life==