January 22, 2024

Tennessee State University Signs Its First Hockey Player

Drury University's only Black hockey player, Xavier Abel is joining TSU

Last year, history was made when Tennessee State University became the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to welcome men’s ice hockey at the collegiate level. The announcement took place on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, before the 2023 NHL Draft. The school has recently stated that it has its first commitment to the ice hockey team with transfer student Xavier Abel.

Xavier Abel – Tennessee State’s first hockey team signee!!! Welcome! #GoBigBlue pic.twitter.com/tXVZ8Lt8NB

— TSU Madness (@TSUmadness) January 19, 2024

According to The Tennessean, Abel, a forward who will be transferring from Drury University, was at a recent men’s basketball game against Tennessee Tech at Gentry Center. Last season, the incoming hockey player was the only Black player on Drury’s hockey team in its inaugural season. He will go down in history as the first player at the school to score the first goal in the school’s existence. That record took place on Sept. 23, 2022. The transfer played in 34 games and had 12 goals and six assists for 18 points, plus 24 penalty minutes.

Abel has stated that he always wanted to play at an HBCU.

“The community and the culture at an HBCU is everlasting,” he told the media outlet. “The friends that you make here come with a lifetime bond, and that is what attracted me. It was an experience that I just wanted to go through, and now, not only do I get to go through it, but I get to do something historic while I’m at it.”

The school intends to start the inaugural season in 2024-25.

The incoming athlete is no stranger to organized play. He played with the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL), the country’s second-tier development league, with the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, Buffalo Stampede, and Las Vegas Thunderbirds.

“Once I saw on Twitter where TSU was starting a hockey team, I have wanted to be a part of it to help evolve the reputation of the sport,” Abel said. “Because, as everyone knows, it has always been a predominantly Caucasian sport, and I bore the brunt of that in my career. I felt like this was the perfect opportunity for me to make an impact on the sport at this level in case I can’t make it as a professional.”

Abel has already stated that he is trying to encourage friends who play hockey to the new program at TSU in hopes that they will join him there.