After Texas Tech’s historic run, NiJaree Canady’s focus is on title
‘I feel like my sophomore and junior year, I was kind of playing with this pressure kind of on me, just this pressure to get better each and every season,’ Canady told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I’m thankful to say this, and obviously blessed, but I feel like I’ve gotten every individual award I could at this point and the only thing that’s left is a national championship.’
The Kansas native is a two-time first-team All-American, two-time National Pitcher of the Year and was named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in 2024.
Canady, who led Texas Tech with 11 home runs and a .639 slugging percentage last season, also has the most expensive arm in college softball. However, the Stanford transfer is one piece of a much larger puzzle.
Texas Tech made an historic run to the WCWS in 2025. Before Canady’s arrival, the program had never won a conference title, let alone made it to the biggest stage in college softball. Under the guidance of head coach Gerry Glasco, the Red Raiders went 54-14 and earned the Big 12 championship.
After making the NCAA Tournament, Texas Tech advanced out of the Lubbock region and beat Florida State and Ole Miss in the super regionals. At the WCWS, the Red Raiders defeated softball bluebloods UCLA (12 championships) and Oklahoma (eight championships). But, they fell short of their championship dream, losing in the championship series to the Texas Longhorns in three games.
‘Obviously, kind of right off the bat, we were disappointed. We didn’t get the kind of outcome we wanted, and I feel like, as the summer went on, even to the fall, it finally set in, what we did,’ Canady said. ‘We did make history, and it didn’t feel like that in the moment, of course. I think it took a couple of months for it to set in, but we did accomplish a lot.’
Terry is another ace pitcher the Glasco will likely pair with Canady, and Spearman could provide critical pitching depth. What’s more, Williams and Burns should help the team’s offensive production. They lead Texas Tech’s transfer class that had over 100 home runs last season, a massive upgrade from the Red Raiders’ 60 homers in 2025.
With the 2026 season beginning Thursday, Feb. 5, Canady says the team has been doing intersquad work to prep for another championship run. She describes their practices as a ‘dogfight,’ and she’s noticed how ‘amazing’ the defense has been playing. As one of the leaders on the team, she’s taken it upon herself to share a message before regular-season action begins.
‘I feel like one that that’s kind of been our motto is to kind of shut out the outside noise,’ Canady told USA TODAY. ‘I feel like softball’s getting more attention, which is obviously good. We want more eyes on the sport, but on the other side of that, that also brings in kind of negative attention. So just trying to remember the only thing that really matters is who’s in the locker room.’
As Canady and the Red Raiders focus on one another, they have one goal in front of them: winning a national championship. The ace pitcher says Texas Tech needs to play its best softball in late May or early June, keep everyone healthy and get a little lucky.
The Red Raiders will also benefit from good team chemistry, ‘playing for the girls to the left and right of you.’ Canady said as athletes, they hope they play their best game all the time, but realistically, ‘that’s just not how it happens.’ Some things are out of their control.
‘This season, I’m not feeling the pressure as much because I know the one thing I still have left to accomplish is the team championship,’ she said.
‘I’m blessed to get all the individual accomplishments and accolades and things like that, but at the end of the day, I’d trade it all for just the team championship.’
