Baseball

Jackson State's Sanders Set to be Inducted into College Baseball Hall of Fame

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- Jackson State’s Earl Sanders will be inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame Thursday as part of the 2025 class.
 
The 18th induction class will be honored Thursday at the 2026 Night of Champions in Overland Park, Kansas, the home of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. The event will serve as the ceremonial start to the 2026 college baseball season.
 
Each year, more than 200 representatives nationwide vote on the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction class. The voting body is comprised of national and regional college baseball media, active and retired coaches, former players, former inductees, college baseball historians and members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) collegiate baseball committee.
 
Sanders starred at Jackson State for three years before he was drafted in the first round of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.
 
While at Jackson State, Sanders was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Hitter of the Year and the Pitcher of the Year. Before he was drafted, Sanders hit .432 with 17 homers and 60 RBI in 1986 leading the team to the NCAA Regionals hosted by LSU and a SWAC championship. 

He becomes the second selection from Jackson State, joining former head coach Robert Braddy who was inducted in 2016.

About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
 
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.

Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.
 
Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.