North Carolina A&T in the “large school” division and Savannah State in the “small school” division head Black College Nines’ first regular season top 10 polls.
North Carolina A&T State tops the first edition of our Historically Black College and University (HBCU) regular season Top 10 HBCU Baseball poll in the large school division presented by Guardian Baseball announced by Black College Nines (BCN) on March 6, 2024.
The Aggies, who began the year ranked No. 9 in the BCN Preseason Top 10 have won two, three-game series sweeping University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Eastern Illinois University to improve to 9-2. NCA&T received the most first-place votes and total points in the “large school” division which is made up of NCAA Division I baseball programs.
Jackson State, winners of its last 4 games, is ranked No. 2 in the first poll, with Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman and Prairie View A&M rounding out the top five. The remaining Top 10 ranked teams include Florida A&M at No. 6, Texas Southern at No. 7, followed by No. 8 Mississippi Valley State, No. 9 Grambling State and University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff rounding out the Top 10.
Savannah State holds down the No. 1 position in the “small school” division, made up of NCAA Division II schools as well as those in the NAIA and NCCAA. The Tigers, from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), have had solid pitching and hitting while building a 12-2 record and earning the HBCU Baseball No. 1 spot in this first week’s poll.
The following small school poll includes No. 2 Florida Memorial, No. 3 Albany State, No. 4 Talladega, and No. 5 Edward Waters. Entering the first poll at No. 6 is Benedict College followed by No. 7 Jarvis Christian. Entering the poll for the first time in program history, Huston Tillotson comes in at No. 8, Stillman at No. 9 and receiving the final small school poll spot is Xavier University of Louisiana at 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 March 3rd.
The two divisional polls are as follows…
Large School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State University | 6-5 | 0.545 | 3 | |
| Arkansas Pine-Bluff University | 6-5 | 0.545 | 10 | |
| Bethune Cookman University | 4-7 | 0.364 | 4 | |
| Florida A&M University | 5-6 | 0.455 | 6 | |
| Grambling State University | 2-8 | 0.200 | 9 | |
| Jackson State University | 9-3 | 0.750 | 2 | |
| Mississippi Valley State University | 4-3 | 0.571 | 8 | |
| North Carolina A&T University | 9-2 | 0.818 | 1 | |
| Prairie View A&M | 6-5 | 0.545 | 5 | |
| Texas Southern University | 4-9 | 0.308 | 7 |
Small School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany State University | 9-6 | 0.600 | 3 | |
| Benedict College | 7-4 | 0.636 | 6 | |
| Edward Waters University | 9-9 | 0.500 | 5 | |
| Florida Memorial University | 7-4 | 0.636 | 2 | |
| Huston-Tillotson University | 8-7 | 0.533 | 8 | |
| Jarvis Christian College | 8-6 | 0.571 | 7 | |
| Savannah State | 11-2 | 0.846 | 1 | |
| Stillman College | 8-9 | 0.471 | 9 | |
| Talladega College | 10-9 | 0.526 | 4 | |
| Xavier Univ of Louisiana | 7-7 | 0.500 | 10 |
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.