OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — NiJaree Canady smiled broadly as she held up a gaudy championship belt with the Big 12 logo in the center.
Texas Tech’s star pitcher had dominated the conference tournament, throwing 16 2/3 shutout innings in three games to claim the Most Outstanding Player award.
Her smile was as much from relief as joy. Moments before that, she had described the challenges she has faced since her decision to transfer from Stanford shifted the college softball landscape.
Canady led an upstart Stanford squad to the Women’s College World Series semifinals her freshman and sophomore years. After last season, when she was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, she entered the transfer portal.
She shunned the traditional powers and signed a $1 million NIL deal to head to Texas Tech — a massive sum for a softball player that drew some unwanted attention.
“So, I definitely feel like there were a lot of things said about the whole entire thing and of course, like media and stuff,” she said. “I feel like that added just — a weight to the situation.”
Her father, Bruce Canady, said things got crazy.
“A whole lot of pressure was put on her,” he said. “It got to the point where we thought we had had a stalker. Just a lot was going on. But, you know, Tech’s a good place. It’s a good place. They’ve got her in a good environment.”
Canady said her father and her faith were among the key aspects that helped her deal with the challenges.
“I got through it,” she said. “And there were days where it honestly was very hard, just looking back.”
She’ll take another step when the 12th-seeded Red Raiders (45-12) host Brown (33-15) on Friday in the Lubbock Regional.
That Canady was even in the portal was a bit of a shocker. She had been successful and had built deep friendships at Stanford.
“Extremely hard,” Bruce Canady said. “I mean, we’re the type of parents that push education. But then you get a lifetime opportunity … then you just have to go with it.”
Gerry Glasco took the head coaching job at Texas Tech last summer. After he started talking to Canady, he got busy.
“I realize we have to put together a team that can compete on a national level and give her a realistic chance to come to Tech or there’s no way we can recruit her,” he said.
Glasco came through, and Canady did the same. Canady has a 26-5 record with a nation-leading 0.81 ERA and has 263 strikeouts in 181 innings.
Canady also has been able to hit — something she didn’t do at Stanford. She is batting .309 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs.
The ups and downs of the journey were part of why the winning of the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles — the first ever for the school — were so satisfying for Canady. She loved her teammates at Stanford, but Tech is home for her now.
“I feel like it was all worth it, and there’s no place I’d rather be right now than with Texas Tech,” she said. “Being able to win the regular season and the the conference tournaments means everything.”
Even Glasco was surprised by how well Canady pitched in the conference tournament. She’s been dealing with a nagging injury and hasn’t been practicing.
“To get to see her dominate in the circle the way she dominated this week was really eye opening to me as a coach,” he said. “And we know her greatness. But like, it was very visible, very evident.”
Canady allowed two hits and struck out eight in seven innings in the Big 12 title game, a 4-0 win over Arizona.
“I think she’s a competitor, first and foremost,” Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said. “She obviously has elite stuff and she competes her tail off, and she has a lot of tools, right? So the moment you get on time, then there comes the change up. And being able to lay off the rise that’s out of the zone to get to the rise that’s in the zone and then being on time for that when it’s your time. It’s a cat and mouse game.”
Canady felt comfortable at Devon Park in Oklahoma City — the site of her Women’s College World Series wins — during the conference tournament. She hopes to lead her teammates back in a few weeks so they can have the World Series experience.
“This, especially being in Oklahoma City, is just a dream come true to be able to hold the (conference tournament) trophy,” she said. “We still have one big goal we want to accomplish. We’ve knocked out two of the three.”
