Black college football and basketball stars abound, but baseball players of color are difficult to locate on diamonds across the state.

With the exception of historically Black Norfolk State University, less than 10 percent of the state’s Division I baseball sluggers and pitchers are Black.

Here’s a sampling of the representation:

Division I

Jay Woolfolk (University of Virginia): The former Benedictine ace is a rarity of all rarities on the college scene—a Black baseball player who also plays football. Woolfolk was U.Va.’s backup quarterback last fall as a freshman and started against the University of Notre Dame.

On the mound, the 6-foot right-hander has been a dominant closer. In 11 appearances, all in relief, Woolfolk has a 2.93 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. Woolfolk’s fast ball has been clocked in the high 90s.

Raphy Rodriguez (Norfolk State University): The former Thomas Dale High School flash broke into the Spartans’ lineup as a freshman and helped the team to the MEAC title and a NCAA bid.

A skilled infielder (45 assists, 19 putouts), Rodriguez was hitting .333 through 20 games with seven stolen bases.

Christian Beal (University of Richmond): The fleet outfielder from Illinois was hitting .348 after 21 games, with six doubles and five stolen bases.

Devan Barnett (Virginia Commonwealth University): The 6-foot-5 sophomore outfielder from Pittsburgh got off to a celebratory start this season, socking a home run in his first at bat. The blow cleared the distant right-centerfield fence at The Diamond.

Blake Morgan (Old Dominion University): The southpaw pitcher from New Jersey has become the Monarchs’ ace with a 7-5 record, 0.46 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 19.2 frames.

Trevon Dabney (James Madison University): The burly Pennsylvanian is power personified for the Dukes. Through 24 games, the utility defensive player was hitting .315 with a team-leading five home runs and 23 RBI.

Michael Peterson (Longwood University): The junior outfielder from Prince George High School leads the team in hitting (.361) and has stolen 15 bases in 16 tries.

Joe Delossantos (College of William & Mary): The junior from North Carolina has struggled at the plate but has started 20 of 29 games for The Tribe as a speedy outfielder.

Jordan Smith (George Mason University): The sophomore outfielder from Virginia Beach was hitting .333 after 23 games, with seven stolen bases and 34 putouts defensively.

Division II

Ricky Jones (Virginia State University): From Hopewell, the outfielder has found a home in Ettrick after two seasons of backup duty (mostly pinch running) at the University of Richmond.

For VSU Coach Merrill Morgan, Jones has flourished with full-time opportunities. Through 19 games, Jones was hitting .423, with three homers, 17 RBI and five stolen bases in five attempts.

The pitching star for VSU also is the kicking star for the VSU Trojans football squad. Nick Woolfolk, who is white and from Richmond’s Thomas Jefferson High School, has a 2.97 ERA on the mound with 30 strikeouts in 29 innings.

Baseball has become a dying sport in the CIAA. VSU, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania and Claflin University of South Carolina are the only schools with baseball teams this spring. Therefore there is no CIAA champion.

Virginia Union University has not played baseball for many decades.

Norfolk State University is joined by only Coppin State, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Delaware State as the lone baseball playing members of the MEAC.

HBCU Hampton University, an incoming member of the Colonial Athletic Association following an affiliation with the Big South, hasn’t fielded a baseball team since the early 1970s.