The Red Raiders are making history in their debut trip to Oklahoma City for Women’s College World Series (WCWS) and NiJaree Canady is a big part of this historic run. 

Texas Tech is headed to the national championship series and this is the first time in WCWS history that a program has made it this far in their debut trip to OKC since the Oklahoma Sooners did it in 2000 per Brad Crawford with CBS Sports.

The team that the Red Raiders just beat to advance: the Oklahoma Sooners. The Raiders were also on a 37-game losing streak to the Sooners prior to their game Monday. They punched their ticket to the title game with a 3-2 win. By the time Canady left the pitching circle the Sooners had only five total hits.

The second Canady hit the transfer portal Texas Tech made her their main priority. She started her collegiate career with the Stanford Cardinals and she decided to pursue other programs for the rest of her career.

Texas Tech’s NIL Collective, offered her a one-year $1,050,24 contract just three days after she had entered the portal stated by Canady in an interview with Dave Wilson on ESPN. Canady also made it clear in her interview that if she didn’t believe in the program she wouldn’t have moved to Lubbock.

“I feel like people thought I heard the number and just came to Texas Tech, which wasn’t the case at all,” said Canady and she also mentioned that she took over a month to think the contract over.

Canady went into a program that had only won 31% of its conference games since the start of Big12 Conference. By the end of league play this season they were the conference champions for the first time in program history.

Canady is the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year for many reasons. With the Red Raiders she has a 30-5 record and an incredibly low 0.89 ERA as stated on the Red Raiders’ website.

Her list of accolades are lengthy including: NFCA First Team All-American (2024), PAC 12 Pitcher of the Year (2024), Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team (2023,2024) among many, many other awards. 

While there is a lot of controversy surrounding NIL contracts Canady has showed that there are positives to letting players make money off their names as she put Texas Tech Softball on the map this year. Even if they do not win the title this year this has ultimately changed the program for the better.

The Oklahoma softball dynasty is over, at least for now. Monday night, June 2, Texas Tech knocked off the Sooners to reach their first championship series. In the process, they ended Oklahoma’s run of four consecutive national titles.

How did Texas Tech knock off the four-time defending champs?

Like all champions, Oklahoma did not go quietly. Down to their final strike in the bottom of the 7th inning, the Sooners’ number nine hitter, Abigale Dayton, hit a two-run homer to tie the game at two. It was the only mistake Texas Tech superstar pitcher NiJaree Canady made all night.

Canady’s teammates didn’t flinch. They bailed her out in the bottom of the inning with a couple of hits and a walk-off sacrifice fly to win it 3-2. Head coach Gerry Glasco’s players had their “David versus Goliath” moment.

“That’s been our motto all year, our chance at forever,” Glasco said. “We can leave a legacy at Texas Tech that will be remembered forever in the minds of the people that are able to watch this ball club. I think that we’ve done that. I think our team has left a legacy that’ll be remembered forever.”

Why is NiJaree Canady in the spotlight?

The Red Raiders leaned on their own giant to get it done. Canady earned National Player of the Year honors at Stanford last season. She made headlines in the summer of 2024 when she transferred to Texas Tech, becoming the first softball player in history to sign a $1 million name, image and likeness deal.

Unbiased. Straight Facts.^TM

NiJaree Canady’s historic NIL deal came from The Matador Club, Texas Tech’s NIL collective, which offered a one-year, $1,050,024 contract.

All she’s done this season is post a 33-5 record with an ERA at 0.90. Canady has thrown every pitch for her team in this Women’s College World Series run. Canady was one strike away from holding the Sooners scoreless for the first time in 300 games, a streak that spans 6 years and counting. She was asked how they pulled it off.

“We just played for each other,” Canady said. “Honestly, I feel like a lot of people doubted us and a lot of people didn’t think we would get to this point. So, I think we just didn’t have any pressure on us. We just wanted to go out, play softball and play our game.”

Glasco said Canady’s leadership might be the ingredient that put his team over the top and relayed a conversation he had with her while recruiting the superstar to come to small-town Lubbock, Texas. 

“One of the things I kept telling her,” Glasco said. “Hey, if you come to Texas Tech and you take us to the World Series, your market value in advertisements, your shelf life will be seven, eight times more than if you went to a blue blood, like a UCLA, or an Alabama or Tennessee or Oklahoma. If you come here and you take this team to the World Series, there’s no comparison.”

What’s next for Oklahoma?

Coach Glasco also made sure to put his team’s win into perspective. He compared the Sooners to another all-time great program.

“What they’ve done is historic, legendary,” Glasco said. “When I was a kid, we grew up talking about John Wooden and UCLA basketball, and I still think of John Wooden and UCLA when I think of college basketball. That’s what Patty Gasso has done and what Oklahoma’s done, great champions.”

Patty Gasso shed some tears Monday. With 14 newcomers, she very nearly coached the Sooners to their sixth straight championship series. The record run of titles may be done but Gasso, who has eight national championships since 1995, says she has never thought about coaching a dynasty.

“Losing is not fun, but losing is life,” Gasso said. “We all lose at something. It’s hard, but it’s lessons learned from it. And I think that’s probably what’s most important for me.” 

The Red Raiders will meet rival Texas in the best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday, June 4, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in a rivalry referred to in college football as “The Battle For The Chancellor’s Spurs.” The Longhorns knocked Tennessee out of the tournament Tuesday, June 3. Both teams are hoping to win their first national title. 

Michigan State has hired Georgia Tech’s J Batt as its newest athletic director. 

Batt replaces Alan Haller, who held the position for four years before being let go last month. MSU was seeking an athletic director who would revitalize fundraising and modernize the athletic program’s revenue. 

Batt did so at GT, where he helped fundraise and improve the football and basketball programs in Atlanta. Many, including former MSU football head coach Nick Saban, have had good things to say about the Spartans’ newest athletic director. 

MSU has not been competitive on or off the football field in the last few years. Whether that is because of the product on the field, a lack of competitiveness in the NIL department, or both, the hiring of Batt should shore up at least one of these issues. 

NIL support and the on-field product have been a bit of a cat-and-mouse game for the Spartans in the last few seasons. The team has not won many games since 2021, which has led donors to be hesitant to give money to the program. 

With an energetic, charismatic athletic director like Batt who wants to build genuine relationships with donors, Spartan football should be on the upswing. 

There is no reason the Spartans should not be in the upper half of the top 25 programs in college football when it comes to funding their NIL department. 

Even if the team is not pushing for a spot in the College Football Playoff, there should still be a healthy amount of money coming into the program. 

With Batt now in place as the new AD, becoming one of the top NIL programs in college football is now a reality. Fans should be excited about the future of the program because of this hire. 

Jonathan Smith has not blown any teams away on the recruiting trail, even if he has landed a few solid players and diamonds in the rough. With improved NIL funding because of Batt, he has many more resources at his disposal. 

MSU football has had a few down years that have disappointed fans. Those days could be over because of the new man in the front office.

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The USC Trojans’ 2025 college football recruiting class was one of the best in the country, ranking No. 15 nationally according to On3.

Headlined by five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet, they also signed the No. 1 junior college running back in the country Waymond Jordan.

After winning the NJCAA D1 Football Offensive Player of the Year in 2024, Jordan makes his way to one of the most prestigious schools in the country to continue his football career. He ran for 1,614 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in 12 games, both of which led the nation.

On Monday, the top-ranked running back signed a massive NIL deal, where he is officially an athlete under C4 Energy.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic sophomore pitchers Trey Beard and MJ Bollinger have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team for baseball. The program recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
To be eligible for Academic All-District, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore, maintain a 3.50 or better GPA, and be an important starter or reserve.
 
Beard established himself as one of the best pitchers in the country in his sophomore campaign, finishing with a 7-1 record, a 3.14 ERA, and 118 strikeouts. His strikeout total ranked seventh in Division I prior to the start of NCAA Regionals. A First Team All-AAC selection, he became the first FAU pitcher since Austin Gomber in 2013 to eclipse 100 strikeouts in a season. Later this summer, he will represent USA Baseball on the Collegiate National Team. In the classroom, the native of Dunedin, Florida, holds a 3.58 GPA while majoring in business management.
 
Bollinger led the Owls with 11 saves, five of which required six outs or more. He finished with a 2.01 ERA in 44.2 innings. Bollinger majors in Information Systems Management and carries a 3.78 GPA.
 
Both players now advance to the Academic All-America ballot, which CSC members will vote on until June 17. Beard and Bollinger will hope to join former baseball Owls Chris Saxton (2004) and Nolan Schanuel (2023) as previous Academic All-Americans.
 
For more on the CSC Academic All-America program and to see the full Academic All-District Team visit https://academicallamerica.com/.