OKLAHOMA CITY — Things are sure to ramp up a notch or two for the Texas Tech softball team the rest of their time in the Women’s College World Series.

After besting Ole Miss in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel in Thursday’s opener, the Red Raiders (51-12) now turn their attention to UCLA, the No. 9 overall seed in the 2025 NCAA softball tournament. The Bruins got a two-run walk-off home run from Jessica Clements to get by Oregon 4-2 in their first game at Devon Park.

“They’re really good,” Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco said of UCLA. “They’ve been here 33 times and that says a lot. This is an every-year event for them. They’re going to know how to handle the pressure. They’re going to know how to handle the moments and they’re enormously talent.”

The Red Raiders and Bruins are set to tangle at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. Here are players to watch, a look at potential pitching matchups and a prediction for the winner’s bracket game.

Players to watch for Texas Tech softball vs. UCLA

UCLA: Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant

The Bruins feature a pair of heavy hitters in Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant, who are both Top 10 nationally in home runs and RBI. Entering the Women’s College World Series, Grant had mashed 25 home runs to Woolery’s 23, while Woolery, the unanimous first-team NFCA All-American at third base, was tied for the national lead with 86 RBI to Grant’s 79.

Marist is the only other team in the country to have two hitters ranked in the top 11 nationally in home runs and Texas is the only other squad to boast two of the top 10 RBI leaders in the country. The Bruins have the bats to make things interesting.

Texas Tech: NiJaree Canady and Alana Johnson

It shouldn’t be a shock that NiJaree Canady leads the Texas Tech players to watch. Now a three-time WCWS participant, Canady is plenty familiar with the pressures of Devon Park. She had no trouble in the opener against Ole Miss, striking out 10 batters in the 1-0 victory.

Alana Johnson is also familiar with the WCWS environment, though her first experience with Washington wasn’t much to write home about. She had one plate appearance as a pinch hitter and didn’t play in losses to Florida State and Stanford (Canady’s old team). She made the most of her return Thursday by delivering a double that resulted in the only run of the game.

Pitching matchup for Texas Tech softball vs. UCLA in WCWS

Canady (31-5) will get the ball again for Texas Tech, and the nation’s leader in ERA (now at 0.86) doesn’t need a ton of run support to get the Red Raiders to the victory.

Texas Tech, though, will have to get a few runs across against the UCLA pitching staff. The Bruins used Katilyn Terry all seven innings in the win over Oregon. They could turn to the sophomore again, but also have junior Taylor Tinsley (15-4, 2.42 ERA) and freshman Addisen Fisher (16-2, 2.59 ERA) to utilize as well.

Texas Tech softball vs. UCLA score prediction

Texas Tech 3, UCLA 2: The key for the Red Raiders will be to generate runs and get some fly balls, something they weren’t able to do against Ole Miss pitcher Aliyah Binford. Even if the UCLA offense does strike against Canady, the damage will likely be minimal, and the offense has shaken off the jitters of Game 1 and should be ready for whatever the Bruins throw their way.

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The double-edged new normal in college athletics today is the transfer portal and NIL (name, image and likeness). Since it was introduced in 2019, the number of men’s and women’s basketball players in the portal has increased each year from hundreds in 2019 to thousands in 2025. College football transfers also are up.

According to On3, which tracks portal comings and goings, over 40% of MBB players (5,607) and about 29% of WBB players (5,048) went into the 30-day portal window, which opened during March Madness and closed in late April. 

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In other words, the transfer portal along with NIL basically have become college sport’s free agency. Players come and go for various reasons and not always about playing time or lack thereof.@media ( min-width: 300px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-1min-height: 100px;@media ( min-width: 320px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-1min-height: 100px;@media ( min-width: 728px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-1min-height: 90px;
AD Advisors, a group of former college administrators, recently produced two “white papers” on the transfer portal by collecting quantitative data through interviews with coaches, administrators, athletic directors, and players for their first-hand experiences. The group also studied over 800 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football players dating back to 2020-21 and over 14,000 basketball players in the portal dating back to 2019.The respective studies found that “a significant majority” of football student-athletes and basketball players who entered the portal transferred down from a Power 5 school to a non-Power 5 school, or transferred down from other conferences or did not get picked by a new school.Furthermore, both the portal and NIL are strange bedfellows of sorts, putting more pressure on coaches to succeed. An April 16 article in Minnesota Sports Fan pointed out that NIL ultimately did in former Minnesota coach Ben Johnson, who was fired in March after four seasons.@media ( min-width: 300px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-2min-height: 100px;@media ( min-width: 320px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-2min-height: 100px;@media ( min-width: 728px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-2min-height: 90px;
Ben Johnson Credit: Charles Hallman“When Ben was hired back in 2021,” the article said, “the wide-open NCAA transfer portal was still a very new thing. So was NIL. Every year under Johnson, they ran into the same problem — not enough NIL money. Instead of improving the core of their team in the offseason, Ben and his coaches had to find underdeveloped talent in the transfer portal and use it to cobble together an underwhelming roster.“They’d lose their best players. This is why Ben Johnson was fired,” the article said.Kennedy D. Wells, the CEO of Achieving Coaching Excellence, told the MSR that coaches must become equally as adept at transfer portal and NIL matters as they are with the X’s and O’s.   @media ( min-width: 300px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-3min-height: 100px;@media ( min-width: 320px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-3min-height: 100px;@media ( min-width: 728px ).newspack_global_ad.scaip-3min-height: 90px;
“Black coaches specifically, and it’s not to say that they’re not,” stressed Wells, “but they need to fully embrace and immerse themselves in what is transpiring with intercollegiate athletics. “It is important that these coaches…understand that becoming a CEO is no longer an option. It is a must when it comes to how you go about navigating your specific program. It’s important that you be proactive about asking questions of the administrators and make sure that they have dotted all the I’s and crossed all the T’s to give you the best possible opportunity to be successful.”The last-hired-first-fired axiom that has existed for Black coaches seemingly forever is putting Black coaches on hot seats quicker than usual. “The standard now is that you should be able to improve drastically from season to season,” said Wells. “For those that know a little bit about the coaching profession, it’s very difficult to build chemistry and things like that, which are so vital to the success of any entity let alone a women’s or men’s basketball program.“I think it’s not a matter of [Black coaches] having to work twice as hard to be half as good,” concluded Wells. “I think everybody’s working hard, especially in the college basketball landscape. Everybody’s working hard.”Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

The pleasant side effect of the mad dash for cash is ameliorating the pro basketball development pipeline, one long prone to premature harvesting and eating its young. Instead of fleeing for an uncertain NBA future, talented college players possess the option to run it back on campus, where they can get paid, improve their craft, and show up at the NBA’s doorstep more prepared.

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It’s a win, win, win scenario.

The top of NBA drafts are still likely to be littered with one-and-done players like sure-shot No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg of Duke, the pride of Maine. But for players on the first-round fence or the outskirts of lottery land, there’s a choice. That played out last Wednesday, the deadline for players to opt out of the draft and maintain college eligibility.

There were 106 early-entry candidates (including international players) for the 2025 draft, to be held June 25-26. That was the lowest in a decade (2015 had 91) and down from 195 last year.

According to the NBA, 50 players — all but two of whom played college basketball last season — withdrew by the May 28 deadline. (The NBA’s deadline to withdraw as draft eligible is June 15.)

That potential sea change might not be great for the Celtics, who possess picks No. 28 (first round) and 32 (second), but it’s good for a basketball ecosystem ravaged by the vicious cycle of ill-prepared, inchoate, and immature players flooding the draft pool each year and leaving holes in college basketball rosters.

“This year’s draft class more than any ever has been affected by the NIL and affected by the new pay-for-play,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told NBC Sports Boston, “but I think that this draft more than any other will probably be affected by that, as far as the backend of the draft and even into the late first [round] people will have really hard decisions to make.

“Do I come to the NBA and make this much money, slotted for this many years? Or do I take a huge payday from some school? And that’s the world we live in.”

It’s a world where college players don’t have to choose between getting compensated for playing or prioritizing improvement.

Assuming the settlement in the landmark House vs. NCAA case is approved, power conference schools will be able to (officially) pay athletes, with each allotted approximately $20.5 million. The bulk of that will go to football and basketball.

Coupled with the transfer portal, college players enjoy unfettered free agency thanks to NIL. The NCAA and its president, former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, detest that depiction of the system, but that’s effectively what it is — a free market.

Instead of being assigned to an NBA locale and slotted into a rookie contract, players can spark an NIL bidding war and choose their destination. Call it college basketball capitalism.

Rookie salaries prescribed by the NBA collective bargaining agreement get lower with each pick. Flagg will earn about $11.5 million in his rookie season, but the 17th pick is set to make $3.5 million — a number sought-after college players can approach in the NIL market.

Every pick after the 20th selection is projected to make less than $3 million as a rookie, and only the first two years of rookie salaries are guaranteed for first-round picks. That’s why some prominent prospects extended their school days.

Among the high-profile college basketball returnees:

⋅ Alex Condon, the fourth-leading scorer for national champion Florida.

⋅ Associated Press second-team All-American PJ Haggerty, who transferred to Kansas State.

⋅ Houston point guard Milos Uzan, who helped the Cougars reach the national title game.

⋅ Highly recruited class of 2024 guard Boogie Fland, who transferred to Florida.

⋅ Auburn freshman sensation Tahaad Pettiford.

⋅ All-Big 12 first-team forward Darrion Williams, who transferred from Texas Tech to North Carolina State.

⋅ University of Kentucky leading scorer Otega Oweh.

⋅ Labaron Philon, an SEC All-Freshman team selection.

⋅ All-Big Ten center Nate Bittle of Oregon.

You don’t have to be Dick Vitale to know those names if you’re passionate about college hoops.

The apotheosis of this NIL-fueled trend is Michigan big man Yaxel Lendeborg. One of the most sought-after transfers in the country, Lendeborg landed in Ann Arbor from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A versatile forward, Lendeborg piqued the interest of NBA teams, drawing first-round buzz.

Last season, he joined Larry Bird (heard of him?) as the only Division 1 college players ever to compile 600 points, 400 rebounds, and 150 assists in a season.

When Lendeborg pulled out of the draft, he offered a statement thanking Michigan coach Dusty May for his patience with the process and “the Champions Circle collective for making this opportunity possible.”

That’s the NIL collective bankrolling University of Michigan athletes. Michigan’s NIL money was the siren song luring Lendeborg back to school.

Some will find that unsavory, but this is the new reality. The presence of Lendeborg and his brethren in the college game represent a rising tide that should lift all basketball boats.

That’s the silver lining of the NIL golden goose.

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Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at christopher.gasper@globe.com. Follow him @cgasper and on Instagram @cgaspersports.

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It was a very, very good offseason for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats, retaining almost all of the team’s production with remaining eligibility, signing three top-40 high school recruits and adding one of the top transfer portal classes in the country. With 14 talented pieces on the roster going into 2025-26, there aren’t many groups better from top to bottom when you combine ability, versatility, size, experience and depth.

In fact, there may not have been a bigger winner of the offseason than Kentucky — at least if you look at the program’s five top-60 portal additions, as David Cobb of CBS Sports believes.

In a list of the biggest winners of the 2025 portal cycle, the Wildcats sit atop the list put together by CBS Sports, a class that included six total newcomers and just two departures in Kerr Kriisa and Travis Perry.

“Kentucky went shopping in the luxury aisle and came away with some high-end portal additions to reinforce a roster that is losing five double-figure scorers to due to the expiration of eligibility,” Cobb said of the Cats. “Five of the additions are ranked among the top-60 transfers, headlined by No. 12 Jayden Quaintance. After shining as a shot-blocking freshman at Arizona State last season, Quaintance will combine with ex-Alabama forward Mo Dioubate to give the Wildcats a ferocious front court. Jaland Lowe (Pitt) will run the show at point guard after averaging 5.5 assists for the Panthers, while Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and Kam Williams (Tulane) will add perimeter pop.

“Year 1 under coach Mark Pope showed proof of concept, and now the Wildcats are poised to keep building after a strong offseason.”

Not too shabby.

Among the other big winners: Louisville, St. John’s, UCLA, Michigan, Kansas State, Washington, UConn, Florida, San Diego State and George Washington.

The losers? North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, UCF, Oregon State, Washington State, Memphis and Robert Morris.

Kentucky sits at No. 2 nationally in On3’s transfer portal team rankings, that rating system combining both additions and departures. Quaintance sits at No. 4 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking, followed by Lowe at No. 52, Dioubate at No. 61, Williams at No. 80 and Aberdeen at No. 89.

Read all of David Cobb’s analysis with CBS Sports here.

PORTAL / INTERNATIONAL COMMITS (7)

• Kam Williams – G – Tulane – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
• Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
• Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
• Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8
• Andrija Jelavic – C – Mega Basket — 10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50.3% FG, 32.3% 3PT | Committed 4/12
• Denzel Aberdeen – G – Florida – 7.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 41.8 FG%, 35 3PT% | Committed 4/21
• Reece Potter – C – Miami (OH) — 6.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 46.6 FG%, 36.7 3PT% | Committed 5/5

RETURNING PIECES / INCOMING FRESHMEN (7)

• Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT | Going through NBA Draft process
• Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9% | Confirmed return on 4/12
• Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/17
• Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/18
• Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
• Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)
• Braydon Hawthorne – SF – Incoming Freshman – Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV)

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