Three Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) NAIA baseball programs are ranked in the Black College Nines’ HBCU baseball “small school” Top 10 Poll recently announced on March 6. The list includes Jarvis Christian, Huston-Tillotson, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
All three teams have started their 2024 seasons with strong performances. Now, Jarvis Christian, Huston-Tillotson, and Xavier University of Louisiana are facing tough conference and non-conference opponents as they tune up for the grind that is the spring season in collegiate baseball. Before they begin to play each other, it’s not just stats, but also strength of schedule that factor into the rankings.
Jarvis Christian, at No. 7, appears to be the most well-rounded HBCU baseball team in the conference. They may not be the best in any given area, but they have shown they can win games. Either way, their play on the field is paying dividends.
Huston-Tillotson hold down the No. 8 ranking. What I have noticed is that the pitching staff has taken a big step forward from last year’s team and the offense should be able to sustain as one of the top teams in the league.
Xavier University of Louisiana is ranked No. 10. After a fast start to the season, Xavier has impressed with two of three-games over Huston-Tillotson. The two wins were dog fights. The offense looks improved from a season ago. The Gold Rush pitching staff has pitched well in spots, but will need to make an impact in the RRAC.
Huston-Tillotson’s national HBCU baseball ranking is the program’s first. Anyone of these teams could be selected to the 2024 Black College World Series schedule for this May.
Dion Holbrook was announced as the head baseball coach at Jarvis Christian on July 26, 2022. Holbrook was a pitching coach at Mountain View College in Dallas. Holbrook played college baseball at Mountain View before receiving a scholarship to play at Grambling State University. Holbrook was the starting outfielder for the Grambling Tigers for two seasons and pitched occasionally.
Huston-Tillotson’s head coach Chase Almendarez is entering his third season with the HT Rams. Almendarez came to HT after working with the Round Rock Express (Triple-A Affiliate for the Texas Rangers) as the Manager of Baseball Operations. In this role, he oversaw all baseball-related aspects of the organization. He played two seasons of junior college baseball at Cisco College and Eastfield College, earning his associate degree from Eastfield in May 2016.
Xavier’s head coach Adrian Holloway is no stranger to postseason play having taken his former team, Selma University, to six straight postseason playoff appearances before the school administrators shut the baseball program down. He was hired in Jan. 7, 2020, as head coach of XULA’s relaunched baseball program.
Small School Poll