Alabama State and Albany State continue to hold leads in large and small school baseball poll.
Alabama State continues its top ranking and sits atop the Black College Nines 2023 Historically Black College and University (HBCU) regular season “large school” baseball poll announced on April 18, 2023.
The Hornets, 24-13 overall and 12-3 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), received the most first-place votes and total points in the “large school” division made up of NCAA Division I baseball programs. Bethune Cookman remains in the No. 2 spot in the poll rankings.
Some of the big movers from the previous poll have Florida A&M No. 3, Texas Southern at No. 4, Jackson State No. 5. Grambling State and North Carolina A&T remain at No. 6 and No. 7 respectfully with Prairie View A&M No. 8 and Southern University at No. 9. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore enters the ranking for the first time this season closing out the poll at No. 10.
In the “small school”, Albany State remains the No. 1 ranked team in Black College Nines Top 10 poll. The Golden Rams are 26-8 overall and 24-2 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). Savannah State moves into the No. 2 spot. West Virginia State jumps into the No. 3 spot while Talladega falls to No. 4 from its previous poll ranking of No. 2, while Florida Memorial remains the No. 5 ranked team.
The remaining small school Top 10 has Kentucky State at No. 6, Wiley College No. 7, Virginia State at No. 8, Miles College falls from from No. 7 to No. 9 as Paine College maintains at No. 10.
The small school Top 10 poll will have national implications throughout the 2023 regular season which will lead to HBCU baseball programs competing for a national title in the third annual Black College World Series scheduled for May 10-13, 2023, at Riverwalk Stadium (home of the Tampa Bay Rays Double-A affiliate Montgomery Biscuits) in Montgomery, Alabama.
Black College Nines HBCU Baseball Ranking Committee determines the Top 10 rankings for both large schools and small schools.
Records indicated are through April 16th.
The two divisional polls are as follows…
Large School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State University | 24-12 | 0.667 | 1 | |
| Bethune Cookman University | 20-14 | 0.588 | 2 | |
| Florida A&M University | 18-17 | 0.514 | 3 | |
| Grambling State University | 16-18 | 0.471 | 6 | |
| Jackson State University | 19-15 | 0.559 | 5 | |
| University of Maryland Eastern Shore | 11-23 | 0.324 | 10 | |
| North Carolina A&T University | 14-19 | 0.437 | 7 | |
| Prairie View A&M | 14-21 | 0.400 | 8 | |
| Southern University | 11-19 | 0.367 | 9 | |
| Texas Southern University | 22-14 | 0.611 | 4 |
Small School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany State University | 26-8 | 0.765 | 1 | |
| Florida Memorial University | 16-17 | 0.485 | 5 | |
| Kentucky State University | 17-16 | 0.515 | 6 | |
| Miles College | 17-21 | 0.447 | 9 | |
| Paine College | 10-10 | 0.500 | 10 | |
| Savannah State | 24-8 | 0.750 | 2 | |
| Talladega College | 22-14 | 0.611 | 4 | |
| Virginia State University | 18-18 | 0.500 | 8 | |
| West Virginia State University | 21-13 | 0.618 | 3 | |
| Wiley College | 19-16 | 0.543 | 7 |
2023 Poll Dates (with links to poll results):
Pre-Season (1/10/23)
Week 1 (March 7, 2023)
Week 2 (March 21, 2023)
Week 3 (April 4, 2023)
Week 4 (April 18, 2023)
Week 5 (April 25, 2023)
Week 6 (May 2, 2023)
Week 7 (May 16, 2023)
Week 8 (May 23, 2023)
Week 9 (May 30, 2023)
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 17 HBCU schools representing NCAA Division I and a “small school” division made up of the 35 HBCU schools with NCAA Division II, NAIA and NCCAA status.