HBCU baseball programs continue to make base stealing an art. Southern University, Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State, and Prairie View A&M were ranked in the NCAA Division I Top 15 in stolen bases last season.
In the last five years, no teams in college baseball have accomplished what Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) baseball programs have done in NCAA Division I baseball… averaging over 100 bases stolen per year.
According to NCAA College Baseball DI stats, Southern University tied for 4th stealing 157 bases during the 2024 regular season followed by No. 6 Bethune-Cookman which swiped 151 bags, Jackson State with 141 bases, and Prairie View A&M with 126 base thefts topped Division I baseball powerhouses.
SWAC programs are looking to return to their speedy ways, defending their stolen base records each year and hopefully breaking the single-season record for base thefts en route to program history.
Until DI baseball teams devise a tactic to slow down the SWAC conference’s ability to run, it is going to be difficult to keep base runners out of scoring position.
|
Rank
|
Team
|
G
|
SB
|
CS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VMI | 56 | 178 | 47 |
| 2 | FDU | 56 | 162 | 41 |
| – | Northeastern | 55 | 162 | 23 |
| 4 | Oakland | 58 | 157 | 37 |
| – | Southern U. | 51 | 157 | 30 |
| 6 | Bethune-Cookman | 59 | 151 | 29 |
| 7 | Wofford | 62 | 147 | 19 |
| 8 | Jackson St. | 56 | 141 | 18 |
| 9 | Kansas St. | 61 | 137 | 25 |
| 10 | George Washington | 57 | 136 | 36 |
| 11 | Northern Ky. | 59 | 128 | 17 |
| 12 | Prairie View A&M | 55 | 126 | 32 |
| 13 | Canisius | 48 | 121 | 33 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 62 | 120 | 33 |
| 15 | Dayton | 55 | 118 | 32 |
Note: Alcorn State 97 and Arkansas-Pine Bluff 90 stolen bases per NCAA Team Statistics.