North Carolina A&T edges out Bethune-Cookman to hold lead in the “large school”division while Albany State holds its lead in the “small school” division in Black College Nines’ third set of polls for the 2024 season.
North Carolina A&T retains its No. 1 for the third consecutive week in the third 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 on April 3, 2024.
Bethune-Cookman University, right on the tail of NCA&T with a mere 2 points separating them, climbed to a season-high No. 2 ranking. Florida A&M jumped from No. 5 to No. 3, while Jackson State fell from No. 2 to No. 4.
Some of the moves from week two to this week find Alabama State jumping from No. 6 to No. 5, Grambling State moving up three spots from No. 9 to No. 6, previously unranked Southern University making its first appearance this year at No. 7, Prairie View A&M falling from No. 4 in the previous poll to No. 8, Texas Southern dropping one spot from No. 8 to No. 9, and Delaware State making its 2024 debut at No. 10.
Albany State stays at No. 1 in the third edition of the HBCU small school poll followed by fellow SIAC conference member Savannah State moving from No. 3 to No. 2, Talladega jumping from No. 4 to No. 3, West Virginia State from No. 7 to No. 4, and Bluefield State and Edward Waters swapping spots with Bluefield’s Big Blue moving to No. 5 and EWU dropping to No. 6.
Rounding out the remaining small schools in the Top 10… Florida Memorial falls from No. 2 to No. 7, Jarvis Christian maintains at No. 8 for a second week in a row, unranked Wiley University cracks the lineup at No. 9, and Miles College drops from No. 9 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 March 31st.
The two divisional polls are as follows…
Large School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State University | 13-12 | 0.520 | 5 | |
| Bethune Cookman University | 15-11 | 0.577 | 2 | |
| Delaware State University | 7-16 | 0.304 | 10 | |
| Florida A&M University | 12-16 | 0.429 | 3 | |
| Grambling State University | 10-15 | 0.400 | 6 | |
| Jackson State University | 19-8 | 0.704 | 4 | |
| North Carolina A&T University | 17-10 | 0.630 | 1 | |
| Prairie View A&M | 13-17 | 0.433 | 8 | |
| Southern University | 10-13 | 0.435 | 7 | |
| Texas Southern University | 8-17 | 0.320 | 9 |
Small School Poll
| Rank | School | Current Record | Winning Pct. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany State University | 19-7 | 0.731 | 1 | |
| Bluefield State College | 18-10 | 0.643 | 5 | |
| Edward Waters University | 20-12 | 0.625 | 6 | |
| Florida Memorial University | 15-13 | 0.536 | 7 | |
| Jarvis Christian College | 14-12 | 0.538 | 8 | |
| Miles College | 16-16 | 0.500 | 10 | |
| Savannah State | 20-7 | 0.741 | 2 | |
| Talladega College | 19-14 | 0.576 | 3 | |
| West Virginia State University | 16-10 | 0.615 | 4 | |
| Wiley University | 17-14 | 0.548 | 9 |
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.