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In Game 1 of Texas Tech’s super regional slugfest against Florida, Red Raiders coach Gerry Glasco replaced pitcher Kaitlyn Terry, who had just given up a home run, with NiJaree Canady, hoping to preserve an 8-5 lead.
Canady, Division I’s active leader in career ERA (1.04), promptly gave it up. She hit the first batter, then allowed a single, before the Gators’ Ava Brown launched a three-run homer to tie things up.
But after the Red Raiders regained a two-run lead in the seventh, Glasco came back with Canady in the bottom of the inning, and she closed the door on a 10-8 win. After the game, reporters asked the coach why he had the confidence to stick with his ace.
“You’re looking at a gal that’s a two-time national player of the year,” Glasco stated. “She’s been in those situations many, many times.”
Few players have made as much history as Canady. She has won 100 games, has more than 1,000 strikeouts and is one of five players in NCAA history to be named to the Women’s College World Series All-Tournament team at two different schools.
Now, after grinding through a tough series against the Gators, Canady has returned to the World Series one final time, her fourth appearance in Oklahoma City, in one of the most storied softball careers ever. After leading her team to an 8-0 blowout over Mississippi State on Thursday, the next step in Canady’s final quest for a national title will come Saturday in the Red Raiders’ matchup against Tennessee (3 p.m. ET, ABC).
She had immediate success as a freshman at Stanford, though she began her career by asking her catcher if she really thought she was good enough to pitch in college. She ended that season as the National Freshman of the Year; at the 2023 WCWS, little girls pressed against the chain-link cage every time the breakout star warmed up. In her first appearance, she limited No. 1 Oklahoma and the nation’s best offense to one earned run, holding the Sooners without an extra-base hit for the first time in 105 games. The Sooners scrapped to a 2-0 victory behind Jordy Frahm’s 11-strikeout performance.
Off the field, Canady’s career has transformed college softball. After two years and two WCWS appearances at Stanford, she shook up the sport, making national headlines when she signed the first $1 million NIL deal in softball history to transfer to Texas Tech. Glasco told ESPN last year that Canady was a “folk hero” and compared her standing to that of college football legends such as Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker.
“We’re talking about a once-in-a-generation player that’s already made a name all over America,” he stated.
Canady led the Red Raiders to within one win of a championship last year. Can they take the last step in 2026? John E. Moore III/Getty ImagesBefore Canady’s arrival, Texas Tech had won just 49% of its games and just 31% in the Big 12. When Glasco got there, just three players remained on his roster. Behind Canady and a squad of other additions, Texas Tech made a run at the national title, losing in Game 3 of the WCWS finals to Texas. Canady threw 686 consecutive pitches for the Red Raiders in that span from the start of last year’s super regionals until finally running out of gas in the first inning of the decisive game.”We pushed it to the very limit,” Glasco stated after that game. “The kid gave us everything that she had.”Canady stated that after returning to Lubbock this fall, she realized how far the Red Raiders had come in a year.”Before the World Series last year, no one knew about Texas Tech softball. We weren’t on the map at all,” she stated. “Last year we could go out to eat or to the movies and no one knew who we were. Now every time we go out, we count how many people come up to us for photos. We need security when we’re signing autographs.”And that, to Canady, is a source of pride. She embraces her role as an ambassador of the game as well as the head of a growing business empire. This year, she became the first softball player ever to get her own signature Adidas shoe and was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. She is the first collegiate player to sign an NIL deal that grants her equity in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. She became the league’s No. 2 draft pick earlier this month, selected by the Austin Volts and their GM, legendary pitcher Cat Osterman.Canady knows she’s not allowed to have bad days in her position. Or if she does, not to show it. Because people are always watching.”Even if I strike out or I give up a home run, there’ll still be a girl saying it’s OK,” she stated. “I’ll have a bad game and get taken out and a little girl will still want my autograph. It’s so much bigger than just my personal game or my stats. It’s about the people coming behind me.”Still, she doesn’t have many bad days. And this year, she has reinforcements.Glasco added UCLA transfer Kaitlyn Terry, a two-way star who has helped take some of the workload off Canady in the circle, through the transfer portal. Terry went 24-1 for the Red Raiders, good for the best winning percentage in the country, and her 1.68 ERA ranks 14th. This year, Canady is 26-6. They are within reach of a milestone: The last team to have two pitchers with more than 25 wins was 2018 Florida State, which won a national championship.But both Canady and Terry had their surprising struggles in the postseason this year. As a team, the Red Raiders have a 6.46 ERA in the NCAA tournament (worst among the WCWS field) after entering the tournament with a 1.62 ERA, third-best ERA in the country. Canady had a 7.16 ERA in 14⅔ innings.So the Red Raiders, a No. 11 seed in the tournament, are embracing an underdog role. Glasco’s rebuilt roster has made that possible, taking pressure off Canady’s arm, by bringing in Terry and offensive firepower such as Southern Illinois’ Jackie Lis (20 HRs) and Florida transfer Mia Williams (24 HRs). Those bats helped the Red Raiders rally from behind in five of their six postseason games, and if the pitching can return to form, they can be a serious threat. And there’s a sense of urgency. Before last year, the Red Raiders had just six NCAA tournament appearances and had never made it to Oklahoma City. This year, they became the first team to make its first two WCWS appearances in back-to-back tournaments since Auburn a decade ago.”We’ve developed a program that when they come to Texas Tech, they come to go to the World Series,” Glasco stated. “We don’t want to let that slip from our grasp.”On Wednesday, Texas Tech players were asked if they felt they were seen as the “villains” of the tournament because the transfer-laden squad was built with an NIL war chest.”We’re doing things that maybe have never been done before,” Glasco stated. “I’m enjoying every moment, and if softball needs me to be the villain, I’m all about it. Let’s go, it’s fun.”It fits with Canady’s attitude since she became the biggest name in softball’s transfer wave. Million-dollar deals don’t even make headlines for men. Why should she apologize?”Everyone talks about wanting to grow softball and wanting more eyes on softball … and wanting female sports to be as big as male sports,” Canady stated. “Transfers happen in male and female sports. If you want the game to grow, this stuff kind of comes with it.”Canady can still make history on the field this year. As one of just 15 players in NCAA history to have thrown shutouts in three different WCWS, one more would put her in a class with Nancy Evans (1994-95, 1997-98), Lisa Longaker (1987-90), and Debbie Doom (1982-85) as one of four to do it four times.But Canady is more interested in the bigger goal: bringing a national championship trophy to Lubbock. After playing in front of record-shattering crowds all season — at home and on the road, at Texas A&M or Florida — Canady stated she hasn’t had time to put her career in perspective.She’ll leave behind a new power in Texas Tech, which has been transformed by her career. And with softball returning as an Olympic sport, she’s a prime candidate to join the Team USA in 2028 as well as embarking on her professional career in the AUSL.But Oklahoma City represents one more shot at history for Canady, who has set a new bar for college softball stardom.”If you were to tell freshman NiJa that all this would happen, I probably wouldn’t believe you,” she stated. “So much has happened. I don’t think I’ve reflected on it a ton because I’m still living in it. Sometimes it feels like a whirlwind, but it’s like living in a blessing too.”
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