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HBCU Athletic Conference

Talladega, Huston-Tillotson clinch Division Titles, 2026 HBCUAC Baseball Championship field unveiled

Talladega College and Huston-Tillotson finished on top of their divisions.
Talladega College and Huston-Tillotson finished on top of their divisions.
April 21, 2026

NEW ORLEANS - Talladega College and Huston-Tillotson University finish on top of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) East and West Divisions. The conference revealed the pairings on Tuesday for the 2026 Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Baseball Championship hosted by Visit Tuscaloosa at River Run Park April 25-28 in Northport, Alabama.

This season the conference had teams only compete against schools in their division while playing home-and-home with two teams. While some schools played against the other division in non-conference play, the Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Baseball Championship marked the first time for most of  the conference. While it didn't decide the division champions, some of the seeds were adjusted due to forfeits. Below are the 2026 qualifiers for each division.

HBCUAC EAST

1. Talladega College 

2. Stillman College

3. Wilberforce University

4. Voorhees University

HBCUAC WEST

1. Huston-Tillotson

2. Southern University at New Orleans

3. Philander Smith

4. Dillard

For the third straight season, the Tornadoes dominated HBCUAC play. Their only blemishes were losing a slugfest against Rust College and a walk-off loss against Stillman College. Talladega won all seven series with five sweeps. While it lost significant pieces from its previous championship teams, the reigning HBCUAC Coach of the Year Marcos Dominguez found new players to fill in the gaps. 

Freshman outfielder Eli Payne leads the team with a .392 batting average. He has 25 RBI and 21 runs. He is one of the team leaders with a .519 slugging percentage. On the mound, Luis Perdomo is 5-1 with a 4.39 ERA. He has 60 strikeouts in 53 ⅓ innings pitched. Transfer Dewinel Vazquez has helped close out games. He is 3-3 with two saves and a 3.52 ERA. Returning All-HBCUAC First Team catcher Armando Jackson leads the HBCUAC with 11 home runs and 60 RBI. Joshua Catala-Santos is hitting .340 with 55 runs and leads the conference with 38 stolen bases. The Tornadoes have four of the top five players in stolen bases.

Diego Duque is Talladega's top returning pitcher with a 7-3 record and a 3.13 ERA. He has struck out 69 batters in 63.1 innings. The Tornadoes will face West No. 4 seed Dillard University at 3:30 p.m. They will face either the winner or loser between West No. 2 seed Southern University at New Orleans and East No. 3 seed Wilberforce University.

After dealing with the powerhouses of the Red River Athletic Conference for decades, Huston-Tillotson University quickly rose to the top of the West. It only lost series against Wiley University and Southern University at New Orleans. The Rams have been led by its 1-2 punch on the mound Ethan Walker and Weston Bailey. Walker is 7-2 with a 2.52 ERA. He has struck out 61 batters in 75 innings. Bailey is 7-2, winning his last seven starts. He has a 22-inning scoreless streak, dropping his ERA to 2.45. Bailey has struck out 59 batters in 58.2 innings. 

Leading the Rams in hitting is Trey Garza with a .364 batting average. He has 33 RBI and 32 runs. Noah Alvarez leads the team with 38 RBI and is hitting .285. Jacob Perez is hitting .318 with 21 RBI. Huston-Tillotson faces East No. 4 seed Voorhees University at noon on Saturday. It will face either the winner or loser between East No. 2 seed Stillman College and West No. 3 seed Philander Smith University. 

All the games of the 2026 Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Baseball Championship will stream on the Urban Edge Network Fans can visit Tournament Central and the HBCUAC social media pages for the latest updates.

SATURDAY GAMES

Noon: West No. 3 Philander Smith vs. East No. 2 Stillman (Field 4)

Noon: East No. 4 Voorhees University vs. West No. 1 Huston-Tillotson University (Field 2)

3:30 p.m.: East No. 3 Wilberforce University vs. West No. 2 Southern University at New Orleans (Field 2)

3:30 p.m. West No. 4 Dillard vs. East No. 1 Talladega (Field 4)

7 p.m.: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser (Field 4)

7 p.m.: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser (Field 2)

 

About the HBCU Athletic Conference
 The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.