Bethune-Cookman moves to the top in the “large school”division while Albany State continues to hold its lead in the “small school” division in Black College Nines’ fifth set of polls for the 2024 season.
Bethune-Cookman University has achieved its first No. 1 ranking this season in Black College Nine (BCN) fifth edition of its Historically Black College and University (HBCU) regular season “large school” Top 10 HBCU baseball poll presented by Guardian Baseball and announced on April 24, 2024.
North Carolina A&T climbs from the previous No. 3 to No. 2, while Florida A&M slips from No. 1 to No. 3, surging Texas Southern leaps from No. 6 to No. 4, and Alabama State moves up from No. 7 to No. 5.
Jackson State falls from its previous No. 4 ranking to No. 6, as Prairie View A&M moves up from No. 9 to No. 7, Delaware State remains No. 8 for the second week in a row, Grambling State jumps up from No. 10 to No. 9, and Southern falls from No. 5 to No. 10 to close out the “large School” HBCU Baseball Top 10 Poll.
In the “small school” division, Albany State remains No. 1 for the third week as Talladega retains the No. 2 ranking, while West Virginia State and Savannah State flip spots as the Yellow Jackets move up to No. 3 and the Tigers fall to No. 4. Both Edward Waters and Bluefield State maintain their No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively.
Keeping hold of their previous rankings are both Florida Memorial at No. 7 and Wiley University at No. 8, while Miles College and Xavier of Louisiana (LA) swap spots with the Tigers moving to No. 9 and Xavier Gold Rush to No. 10.
The small school Top 10 poll will have national implications throughout the 2024 regular season which will lead to HBCU baseball programs competing for a national title in the fourth annual Black College World Series scheduled for May 8-11, 2024, 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 21, 2024.
The two divisional polls are as follows…
Large School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State University | 19-19 | 0.500 | 5 | |
| Bethune Cookman University | 24-17 | 0.585 | 1 | |
| Delaware State University | 14-18 | 0.437 | 8 | |
| Florida A&M University | 20-19 | 0.513 | 3 | |
| Grambling State University | 16-20 | 0.444 | 9 | |
| Jackson State University | 25-14 | 0.641 | 6 | |
| North Carolina A&T University | 21-18 | 0.538 | 2 | |
| Prairie View A&M | 20-22 | 0.476 | 7 | |
| Southern University | 17-21 | 0.447 | 10 | |
| Texas Southern University | 18-18 | 0.500 | 4 |
Receiving Multiple Votes: Alabama A&M, Coppin State
Small School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany State University | 30-10 | 0.750 | 1 | |
| Bluefield State College | 25-14 | 0.641 | 6 | |
| Edward Waters University | 27-15 | 0.643 | 5 | |
| Florida Memorial University | 19-21 | 0.475 | 7 | |
| Miles College | 22-19 | 0.537 | 9 | |
| Savannah State | 25-13 | 0.658 | 4 | |
| Talladega College | 32-15 | 0.681 | 2 | |
| West Virginia State University | 23-15 | 0.605 | 3 | |
| Wiley College | 24-17 | 0.585 | 8 | |
| Xavier Univ of Louisiana | 18-19 | 0.486 | 10 |
Receiving Multiple Votes: Huston-Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian College, Lane College, Paine College
2024 Poll Dates (with links to poll results):
Pre-Season
Week 1 (March 6, 2024)
Week 2 (March 20, 2024)
Week 3 (April 3, 2024)
Week 4 (April 17, 2024)
Week 5 (April 24, 2024)
Week 6 (May 1, 2024)
Week 7 (May 16, 2024)
Week 8 (May 23, 2024)
Final Poll (May 30, 2024)
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 36 HBCU schools with NCAA Division II, NAIA and NCCAA status.