2023 Black College World Series champ Florida Memorial moves into first place in small school poll while Alabama State holds lead in large school baseball poll. Dillard University makes first ever appearance in top 10.
For the fifth straight week, Alabama State University continues to hold a tight grip on its No. 1 ranking in Black College Nines’ 2023 Historically Black College and University (HBCU) regular season baseball poll in the large school division announced on May 16, 2023.
The Hornets of Alabama State, 37-15 overall and 24-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), continue to receive votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division I Poll as well.
After falling to No. 6 in the last poll, Bethune-Cookman University moves up to No. 2 this week followed by Jackson State at No. 3 and Grambling State at No. 4
In a closely contested battle for spots three through five in the poll, Texas Southern University drops down (from No. 2 in the last poll) into the No. 5 slot.
Florida A&M, Southern University, North Carolina A&T, Coppin State and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore round out the top 10 in the large school division.
After claiming the recent Black College World Series title, Florida Memorial University comes out of nowhere to move into the top spot of Black College Nines’ small school division top 10 poll. The BCWS title came at the expense of tournament runner-up Albany State University and knocked the Golden Rams from its four-week hold on first place and into the No. 2 position.
Talladega College remains at No. 3 this week, while Savannah State drops from No. 2 to No. 4. Both Edward Waters University and Bluefield State hold steady at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively with West Virginia State dropping from its previous ranking of No. 4 to No. 7 this week.
Dillard University, in its first year as a baseball program, enters the poll for the first time ever at No. 8. The winner of the Gulf Coast Athletic Association (GCAC) conference tournament, and NAIA World Series first-round qualifier, edges out conference mate and GCAC regular season champ Rust College which was bumped down one spot from last poll and into the No. 9 slot. Rounding out the small school top 10 is Paine College.
The small school poll this week serves as the final poll of the season as all schools in this division have now completed their seasons… thus naming Florida Memorial University as Black College Nines’ National Champions.
Black College Nines HBCU Baseball Ranking Committee determines the Top 10 rankings for both large schools and small schools.
Records indicated are through May 14th.
The two divisional polls are as follows…
Large School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State University | 37-15 | 0.712 | 1 | |
| Bethune Cookman University | 27-23 | 0.540 | 2 | |
| Coppin State University | 18-30 | 0.375 | 9 | |
| Florida A&M University | 23-25 | 0.479 | 6 | |
| Grambling State University | 25-22 | 0.532 | 4 | |
| Jackson State University | 27-21 | 0.562 | 3 | |
| University of Maryland Eastern Shore | 16-33 | 0.327 | 10 | |
| North Carolina A&T University | 19-33 | 0.404 | 8 | |
| Southern University | 18-25 | 0.419 | 7 | |
| Texas Southern University | 29-19 | 0.604 | 5 |
Small School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany State University | 38-11 | 0.776 | 2 | |
| Bluefield State College | 25-25 | 0.500 | 6 | |
| Dillard University | 22-28 | 0.440 | 8 | |
| Edward Waters University | 26-24 | 0.520 | 5 | |
| Florida Memorial University | 21-24 | 0.467 | 1 | |
| Paine College | 15-15 | 0.500 | 10 | |
| Rust College | 25-25 | 0.500 | 9 | |
| Savannah State | 33-14 | 0.702 | 4 | |
| Talladega College | 28-18 | 0.609 | 3 | |
| West Virginia State University | 28-22 | 0.560 | 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.