North Carolina A&T University, in the “large school” division and Albany State University, in the “small school” division, after making an incredible run through the regular season on the baseball diamond, are now crowned Historically Black College and University (HBCU) National Champions by the polling committee at Black College Nines.
North Carolina A&T fought through a tough conference and non conference schedule and won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship by going undefeated through the tournament. The Aggies, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I post-season regionals, finished the regular season with an overall record of 32-23 and now awaits the NCAA regional selection pairings.
Albany State University, climbed into the No. 1 spot in the week six of the HBCU Baseball poll of May 6, 2018 and ultimately became the unanimous small school champion. The Rams completed the season with a 28-18 record and played this past week in the NCAA Division II South Regional tournament. This is the first national title for Albany State.
Black College Nines is dedicated to preserving the tradition of baseball at historically black colleges and universities in selecting national champions. The “large school” division is made up of HBCUs in the NCAA Division I classification and the “small school” division consists of HBCU schools in the NCAA Divisions II and III, as well as those schools in the NAIA and USCAA.
The two final divisional polls are as follows…
Large School Poll
| Rank | School | Won | Lost | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State (SWAC) This Past Week: 3-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 2 Current RPI: 241 | 30 | 22 | 4 | |
| Arkansas Pine-Bluff University (SWAC) This Past Week: 0-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 9 Current RPI: 280 | 20 | 25 | 10 | |
| Bethune Cookman University (MEAC) This Past Week: 4-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 10 Current RPI: 190 | 24 | 34 | 6 | |
| Coppin State University (MEAC) This Past Week: 1-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 7 Current RPI: 273 | 21 | 23 | 8 | |
| Florida A&M University (MEAC) This Past Week: 1-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 8 Current RPI: 255 | 25 | 30 | 9 | |
| Grambling State University (SWAC) This Past Week: 3-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 6 Current RPI: 271 | 26 | 26 | 5 | |
| Jackson State University (SWAC) This Past Week: 2-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 1 Current RPI: 228 | 34 | 18 | 3 | |
| North Carolina A&T University (MEAC) This Past Week: 3-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 3 Current RPI: 211 | 32 | 23 | 1 | |
| North Carolina Central University (MEAC) This Past Week: 0-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 5 Current RPI: 222 | 28 | 24 | 7 | |
| Texas Southern University (SWAC) This Past Week: 4-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 4 Current RPI: 217 | 27 | 26 | 2 |
Teams Dropped From Top Ten... None
Small School Poll
| Rank | School | Won | Lost | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany State University (SIAC) This Past Week: 0-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 1 Current RPI: 207 | 28 | 18 | 1 | |
| Edward Waters College (GCAC) This Past Week: 0-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 8 Current RPI: 400 | 30 | 25 | 8 | |
| Florida Memorial University (SUN) This Past Week: 0-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 6 Current RPI: 210 | 26 | 21 | 6 | |
| Harris Stowe State University (AWC) This Past Week: 0-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 7 Current RPI: 367 | 30 | 24 | 7 | |
| Miles College (SIAC) This Past Week: 0-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 3 Current RPI: 297 | 32 | 19 | 2 | |
| Selma University (USCAA) This Past Week: 3-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 9 Current RPI: Not Indicated | 16 | 14 | 9 | |
| Talladega College (GCAC) This Past Week: 1-2 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 5 Current RPI: 219 | 28 | 24 | 5 | |
| Virginia State University (CIAA) This Past Week: 0-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 4 Current RPI: 436 | 26 | 15 | 4 | |
| West Virginia State University (MEC) This Past Week: 0-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 10 Current RPI: 419 | 28 | 22 | 10 | |
| Winston Salem State University (CIAA) This Past Week: 0-0 Previous BCN Poll Rank: 2 Current RPI: 298 | 30 | 20 | 3 |
Teams Dropped From Top Ten... none
2018 Poll Dates (with links to poll results):
Pre-Season
Week 1 (March 13, 2018)
Week 2 (April 3, 2018)
Week 3 (April 17, 2018)
Week 4 (April 24, 2018)
Week 5 (May 1, 2018)
Week 6 (May 8, 2018)
Week 7 (May 15, 2018)
Week 8* (May 22, 2018)
*Final Poll
The voting committee is made up of an informed and impartial group of individuals who follow college baseball on all levels, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) baseball. Included in the group are college athletic administrators and educators, college baseball writers and other sports journalists and broadcasters, former HBCU and other college ballplayers and above all else… college baseball enthusiasts who have an interest in promoting HBCU baseball.
As the college baseball season concludes, champions will be named in two divisions… the “large school” division will be composed of the 19 HBCU schools representing NCAA Division I and a “small school” division made up of the 32 HBCU schools within the NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and USCAA.
The crowning of Black College Nines National Champions will be announced on Tuesday, May 22rd, 2018 at Noon (EST) on the Black College Nines’ website and Facebook pages.