At the start of the 2023 season, Alabama State received votes in several of the weekly National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) national rankings. And now again, the Hornets have returned to receiving votes in the latest poll announced on Monday, April 10th.
The Hornets have proven to be one of HBCU baseball’s best “large school” programs and have elevated their status as one of the top HBCUs under head coach Jose Vasquez. Since his arrival, the Hornets have been the only team to consistently receive votes in the NCAA Division I poll.
The Hornets’ current record is 21-12 and 9-3 in the SWAC conference. As a team, ASU is batting .315 with 244 runs batted in and a team .488 slugging percentage. Pitching so far this season has ASU with a 4.67 team earned run average, while opponents’ batting average is .247. The pitching staff leads the SWAC striking out 302 batters.
| 2023 NCBWA DIVISION I POLL (APRIL 10) | ||||
| Rk. | School | Conference | Record | Pvs. |
| 1. | LSU | SEC | 26-5 | 1 |
| t2. | Wake Forest | ACC | 28-4 | 2 |
| t2. | Florida | SEC | 27-6 | 3 |
| 4. | Vanderbilt | SEC | 26-6 | 4 |
| 5. | Arkansas | SEC | 25-6 | 5 |
| 6. | Virginia | ACC | 28-4 | 7 |
| 7. | South Carolina | SEC | 28-4 | 6 |
| 8. | Stanford | Pac-12 | 21-7 | 8 |
| 9. | East Carolina | American | 24-8 | 12 |
| 10. | Louisville | ACC | 24-7 | 14 |
| 11. | Kentucky | SEC | 27-5 | 11 |
| 12. | Tennessee | SEC | 22-10 | 9 |
| 13. | North Carolina | ACC | 22-10 | 16 |
| 14. | Boston College | ACC | 21-9 | 10 |
| 15. | FGCU | Atlantic Sun | 26-6 | 17 |
| 16. | Campbell | Big South | 24-6 | 13 |
| 17. | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 23-10 | 15 |
| 18. | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 20-9 | 20 |
| 19. | Texas | Big 12 | 23-10 | 24 |
| 20. | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 22-10 | 19 |
| 21. | UCLA | Pac-12 | 19-8-1 | 23 |
| 22. | Connecticut | Big East | 22-8 | 21 |
| 23. | Arizona State | Pac-12 | 23-9 | RV |
| 24. | Miami (Fla.) | ACC | 20-12 | 18 |
| 25. | West Virginia | Big 12 | 23-9 | 22 |
| 26. | USC | Pac-12 | 20-10-1 | RV |
| 27. | TCU | Big 12 | 20-12 | RV |
| 28. | Texas A&M | SEC | 20-12 | 29 |
| 29. | DBU | Conference USA | 23-9 | RV |
| 30. | Oregon | Pac-12 | 20-9 | 26 |
| Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Abilene Christian (23-8), Alabama (23-10), Alabama State (21-12), Ball State (23-8), Cal State Fullerton (16-10), Duke (20-11), Elon (21-10), Indiana (22-10), Iowa (19-8), Long Beach State (20-10), Louisiana (23-9), Loyola-Marymount (17-12), Maryland (19-12), NC State (20-11), Northeastern (25-6), Old Dominion (23-8), Oral Roberts (23-10), Oregon State (20-11), Sam Houston State (20-13), UC Santa Barbara (19-9), UNCW (19-11), UTSA (24-8), Virginia Tech (18-11), Washington (19-10), Xavier, Ohio (20-12). | ||||
| Dropped out: UC Santa Barbara (25), UTSA (27), Iowa (28), NC State (30). | ||||
| By conference: SEC 8, ACC 6, Big 12 5, Pac-12 5, American Athletic 1, Atlantic Sun 1, Big East 1, Big South 1, Conference USA 1, Sun Belt 1. | ||||