College baseball intent on increasing Black players, coaches

By ERIC OLSON
AP Sports Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — College baseball officials say they are working to increase the number of Black players and coaches in the sport. There were fewer than two dozen Black players among the eight teams that made it to the College World Series. There were no Black head coaches or assistants. The NCAA says only 4% of players, 1% of the head coaches and 1% of assistant coaches at non-historically Black colleges and universities were Black in 2021. Memphis’ Kerrick Jackson is among four Black head coaches and chairs an American Baseball Coaches Association diversity committee. He is working on several initiatives to increase participation.