2025 HBCU Baseball Preseason Top Ten Polls

Grambling State University in the Large School Division and Talladega College in the Small School Division are ranked No. 1 in their respective Black College Nines HBCU Baseball Pre-Season 2025 Top 10 Polls presented by Guardian Baseball.

The Grambling Tigers baseball team returns several starters at key positions at the plate and on the mound from last year’s Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship team. Grambling brought pitching depth to the lineup that will make an impact and shoot for a second straight SWAC title after finishing the 2024 season 26-28 overall and 18-8 in the conference.

For the second straight season, Bethune Cookman University opens as the large school’s No. 2 ranking after going 32-27 overall and 19-10 in the SWAC last season. Good recruitment has the Wildcats with a top recruiting class, with Jackson State University as No. 3, Texas Southern University as No. 4, and Prairie View A&M University as the No. 5 preseason pick.

Talladega College concluded last season in the small school division with a 40-18 record, and a 17-3 mark in the former Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, now known as the Historically Black College and University Athletic Conference (HBCUAC). Last season, the Tornadoes won the league tournament,, made it to the 2024 Black College World Series championship game, and won 2-of-4 games in the NAIA Opening Round National Tournament. Talladega returns all key position players, only losing one member from last season’s team

Edward Waters University, at No. 2, returns all key position players from last season’s 31-19 overall, 21-11 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) team. EWU won the SIAC baseball championship last season and was a game away from the Black College World Series national title game. The Tigers have a talented recruiting class for the 2025 season and the pitching staff is expected to be much stronger than last season.

The remaining teams in the small school poll, made up of NCAA Division II schools as well as those in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), include No. 3 Wiley College, returning its entire roster from the 29-21 record last season, in the No. 4 position is Savannah State University, followed by Miles College at No. 5.

Black College Nines is dedicated to preserving the tradition of baseball at historically black colleges and universities with our coverage of HBCU baseball.

Staff selections for the two divisional preseason polls are as follows…

Small School Division

Rank School

Talladega College
Edward Waters University
Wiley University
Savannah State University
Miles College
West Virginia State University
Albany State University
Bluefield State University
Jarvis Christian University
Dillard University

Large School Division

Rank School

Grambling State University
Bethune-Cookman University
Jackson State University
Texas Southern University
Prairie View A&M University
Florida A&M University
Alabama State University
North Carolina A&T University
Southern University
Delaware State University

2024 Poll Dates (with links to poll results):

Pre-Season
Week 1 (March 5, 2025)
Week 2 (March 19, 2025)
Week 3 (April 2, 2025)
Week 4 (April 16, 2025)
Week 5 (April 23, 2025)
Week 6 (April 30, 2025)
Week 7 (May 14, 2025)
Week 8 (May 23, 2025)
Final Poll (May 28, 2025)

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 are named in two divisions… the “large school” division will is composed of the 17 HBCU schools representing NCAA Division I and a “small school” division made up of the 37 HBCU schools with NCAA Division II, NAIA and NCCAA status.