Tahj Jakins (born November 11, 1975 in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

) is a retired American soccer defender who played five seasons in Major League Soccer.

Youth

Born in Utah, Jakins grew up in southern California, playing for the North Huntington Beach Futbol Club. In 1993, he entered

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

where he played on the school’s soccer team. In 1996, he earned first team All American recognition. That year, he also played in two games with the U.S. national B-Team, but was never called up to the senior national team.

Professional

On February 1, 1997, the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

selected Jakins with the first pick in the

1997 MLS College Draft The 1997 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on February 1 and 2, 1997 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The draft was held in conjunction with the Umbro Select College All-Star Classic. The first round of the draft took place at halftime of th ...

. He was a regular with the Rapids for three seasons. In 2000, he played one game before being waived on April 7, 2000. The Kansas City Wizards then signed him. He played two games for them that season, but spent several loan periods away from the team. In 2000, he played for the MLS Pro-40 and Raleigh Capital Express of the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. In 2001, he went on loan to the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

. The Wizards waived Jakins on November 17, 2001. He may have also played for the

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

.A Look Back at Number One Picks
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakins, Tahj Living people American soccer players UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Colorado Rapids players Sporting Kansas City players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Raleigh (Capital) Express players 1975 births Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer first-overall draft picks MLS Pro-40 players A-League (1995–2004) players Soccer players from Utah Colorado Rapids draft picks All-American men's college soccer players Association football defenders