Tennessee State has added its first player to its inaugural hockey team.  Xavier Abel has joined the team, transferring from Drury University per a report by the Tennessean. After officially transferring to Tennessee State, he was seen at the Tiger's basketball game vs. Tennessee Tech alongside Athletic Director Mikki Allen. The newly admitted Tiger hockey player starts classes on Monday.

Per quotes obtained by the Tennessean, Abel is excited to attend the institution and expressed his desire to attend an HBCU. The Tiger hockey commit wanted to attend an HBCU out of high school but no black colleges had hockey teams at the time.

“The community and the culture at an HBCU is everlasting. 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.”

Abel has significant ties to Tennessee State. Per the Tennessean, two members of his family attended the Nashville-based institution and his cousin Taylor Abel is earning a master's degree from the HBCU. The process of getting Abel to Tennessee State started with his grandmother reaching out to University president Dr. Glenda Glover. Glover then looped in the Abel's with assistant athletic director Nick Guerriero who was tasked with building out the program.

“When Xavier approached us about transferring to TSU, I was confident that we were welcoming a future leader, excelling both on and off the ice,” Guerriero said in a quote obtained by the Tennessean. “What sets Xavier apart as our inaugural player is his aspiration to be part of an HBCU with a hockey team. Now, his dream, along with the dreams of many others, has become a reality.”

Tennesse State announced that they were forming a hockey team in June 2023 in partnership with the NHL and the Tennessee Predators.

“Bringing ice hockey to Tennessee State University is a part of our continued commitment to provide our students with new opportunities and to broaden new interests in areas where they have traditionally had limited or no access,” said Tennessee State President Glenda Glover in a statement in June, “We appreciate our ongoing partnership with the Nashville Predators which has played a pivotal role in our decision to pursue this historic undertaking, of starting an ice hockey program at TSU, and the first for an HBCU. TSU has a tremendous legacy in athletics. Adding ice hockey to our programs will start a new chapter and build upon that legacy.”

The university conducted a feasibility study in collaboration with the National Hockey League, Nashville Predators, and College Hockey Inc. in 2021. A fundraising campaign was announced by Tennessee State athletics director Mikki Allen and Predators president and CEO Sean Henry to fund the men's & women's hockey teams. The funding was allocated for the building of an on-campus stadium, scholarships, equipment, travel, and other related expenses.

Starting in the 2024-25 season, TSU will establish itself as a club team, aiming to attain NCAA Division I status by 2026-27. This will make it the seventh men's sport at TSU to compete at the NCAA Division I level, alongside football, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field.