OKLAHOMA CITY — NiJaree Canady continued to dominate as a pitcher and added a key hit for the Texas Tech softball team in their Women’s College World Series game against UCLA on Saturday at Devon Park.

Last week, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey closed out the conference’s annual spring meetings by distributing a packet with favorable analytics that made the case the SEC is unlike “any other,” according to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The point was clear: the SEC “stands alone” when compared to other conferences and deserves special consideration from the College Football Playoff selection committee.

Of course, there are others around college football that see Sankey’s effort as posturing from a once-powerful conference that hasn’t won a national championship in two seasons and is desperate to retain its hold atop the sport. One that some believe is fading rapidly.

Count FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt among the SEC doubters. During a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Klatt attributed the Big Ten’s run of back-to-back national championships for Michigan and Ohio State — after a decade of dominance from the SEC — by addressing how NIL and the transfer portal helped the Big Ten overtake the SEC as college football’s top conference.

“You start looking at this narrative the SEC has built up over the last few years, and late last year it started to crumble,” Klatt said after rattling off select SEC losses to both the Big Ten and Notre Dame in last year’s postseason. That included the Fighting Irish’s 2024 Playoff win over Georgia, the Buckeyes’ first-round rout of Tennessee and back-to-back bowl wins over Alabama for the Wolverines.

FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt calls out crumbling SEC ‘narrative’

Of course, Klatt couldn’t do that without first feeding into the unsubstantiated rumors the SEC was “paying players” before it was legal.

“The SEC and in particular the best programs within the SEC can no longer just stockpile talent and keep them as backups and even third-stringers all the time,” Klatt told Cowherd. “But now, rather than sitting as a backup at Alabama, you can go and be a starter at some other program and make six figures. And so the talent is not sitting there. … The depth of talent is now dispersing across the country.

“And what you see is when that happens it rewards teams that can play quality football at the line of scrimmage and retain talent and get veterans within their organization,” Klatt continued. “That’s what Michigan did, and that’s what Ohio State did. In part, it’s just kind of the overarching shift of where college football has gone, which has allowed the talent to not get really bogged down in one region. Now all those players are going all over for more opportunities, more starting spots.”

Whether or not the Big Ten has actually overtaken the SEC as college football’s top conference remains up for debate, especially given the elite-level of talent that still litters SEC rosters. But it’s clear the Big Ten also isn’t going anywhere, creating a compelling two-league race for dominance for years to come.

By ERIC OLSON, AP Sports Writer

LSU Shreveport became the first college baseball team on record to go unbeaten, finishing 59-0 when it won the NAIA championship in Lewiston, Idaho.

The Pilots’ perfect season ended with a 13-7 victory over Southeastern (Florida) on Friday night and gave the 10,000-student school in northwest Louisiana its first national title in any sport.

For 25 years LSU Shreveport has been one of the top programs in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which governs sports at 241 mostly small colleges across the country.

The Pilots have appeared in the NAIA national tournament every year since 2005 and the NAIA World Series in 2021, 2022 and 2025. They’re 270-49 in six seasons under coach Brad Neffendorf, including 142-13 in Red River Athletic Conference play.

LSU Shreveport played only four games decided by one run this season, ranked second in the NAIA with 11.3 runs per game and third with a .361 batting average. The Pilots’ 2.38 ERA was more than a run better than the next-closest team, and they led the nation with a .982 fielding percentage.

Josh Gibson, at .436, was one of three players on the team to bat better than .400, and Isaac Rohde struck out an NAIA-leading 146 and had a 2.09 ERA while going 16-0.

The Pilots broke the NAIA-record winning percentage of .935, set when Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) went 43-3 in 1996.

The NCAA top single-season winning percentages are .914 by Arizona State (64-6 in 1972) in Division I, .939 by Savannah State of Georgia (46-3 in 2000) in Division II and .978 by Trinity of Connecticut (45-1 in 2008) in Division III.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

For the second consecutive game, Kentucky’s season will be on the line inside Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

On Saturday, the ‘Cats outscored USC Upstate 4-0 over the final 3 1/3 innings to break their five-game losing streak with a 7-3 win. It looked as if Clemson had all the momentum in the world to hold off West Virginia once it took a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning, but the Tigers collapsed and allowed four Mountaineer runs to score in the top of the ninth en route to a 9-6 loss.

The winner of Sunday’s noon game will go on to face No. 2 seed West Virginia Sunday night at 6:00 pm EST. If Clemson/Kentucky wins, they’ll go to a winner take all matchup on Monday. If West Virginia wins, the Mountaineers will head to a Super Regional for the second consecutive season (first time in program history).

Clemson Tigers (45-17)

Clemson opened the Clemson Regional with a 7-3 win over USC Upstate, but fell to West Virginia 9-6 on Saturday.

It had four players selected to All-ACC Teams in sophomore right-handed pitcher Aidan Knaak (First Team), senior right-handed pitcher Lucas Mahlstedt (First Team), junior outfielder Cam Cannarella (Second Team) and sophomore DH Collin Priest (Third Team). Mahlstedt however surrendered the lead to the Mountaineers in relief, but Cannarella has definitely lived up to the hype.

Clemson’s starting center fielder had a stellar game against WVU, as he went 4-5 at the plate with a double, a home run and three RBI. He’ll be the player to look out for the most on Sunday.

Although it has made the Men’s College World Series 12 different times, its last appearance came back in 2010. Since then, the Tigers have made 11 Tournament appearances with 10 Regional losses. They made the Clemson Super Regional (first time since 2010) last season, but were bounced in two games by Florida.

Kentucky Wildcats (30-25)

Kentucky is getting really good offensive play from first baseman James McCoy and second baseman Luke Lawrence right now, as the duo combined for five of Kentucky’s eight hits on Saturday. McCoy extended his hitting streak to eight games, and Lawrence has recorded three hits in two of his prior three games.

The ‘Cats however were without All-SEC Freshman shortstop Tyler Bell on Saturday, as he took a foul ball off the kneecap in Friday’s matchup with West Virginia and was visibly injured. Head coach Nick Mingione provided an update on Bell following the win over USC Upstate on Saturday.

“He was sore,” Mingione said. “He was able to get some swings off but it was one of things where I told Tyler this… his health is more important than any baseball game and I need to protect Tyler Bell from Tyler Bell.”

It is currently unknown whether or not Bell will be back in the starting lineup on Sunday. He was available to pinch-hit on Saturday, but never entered the game.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Nate Harris will likely get the start for Kentucky on Sunday. Harris, who replaced Ethan Walker in the starting rotation back in early April, boasts a 4-2 record with a 4.22 ERA in 53 1/3 innings pitched this season. He however is coming off a tough start against Vanderbilt, where he allowed seven hits and five earned runs in just four innings.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Clemson leads 6-3

Probable Starters

Sunday, June 1, 2025 (Doug Kingsmore Stadium – 12:00 p.m. EST) ESPN+
UK: RHP Nate Harris (4-2, 4.22 ERA, 55.1) vs CLEM: LHP Talan Bell (0-1, 3.98, 20.1 IP)

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Texas Tech’s historic season seems to add another monumental chapter each day with the latest being the Red Raiders’ 3-1 victory Saturday night over UCLA to advance to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series.

The Red Raiders will await the winner of Sunday evening’s elimination game between No. 2 seed Oklahoma and No. 16 Oregon with the winner facing Texas Tech at 6 p.m. Monday evening on ESPN. Until then, here’s a look at where the Red Raiders stand in the history books and a look ahead at Monday’s potential matchup.

WHERE THIS RUN RANKS IN TEXAS TECH HISTORY

It’s well known the Red Raiders are making their first-ever appearance in the Women’s College World Series, placing the 2025 edition of the Red Raider softball program among the best teams in Texas Tech history (all sports). The Red Raiders will be looking to secure the fourth team national title in program history as Texas Tech previously cut down the nets for the 1993 women’s basketball national title and won two national championships in men’s track and field at the 2019 outdoor meet and most recently at the 2024 indoor championships.

Texas Tech’s run in Oklahoma City builds upon the athletics department’s recent success as softball is already the ninth program to finish among the top-eight teams in the country for their respective sports since 2015. In addition to the two recent men’s track and field national titles, Texas Tech finished in the semifinals of the Men’s College World Series in 2019, advanced to the National Championship Game for men’s basketball earlier that same year and has competed in the match play portion of the NCAA Golf Championships three times (men twice, women once) during that span. The track and field program, has finished among the top eight teams an impressive 11 times between its men’s and women’s programs over the last decade.

Texas Tech has secured a school record eight Big 12 trophies this season, including two from the softball program after the Red Raiders won both the regular season and tournament titles. Texas Tech also claimed the regular season and tournament titles in women’s tennis and has won all four Big 12 track and field championships with both the men’s and women’s teams sweeping the indoor and outdoor meets. That list doesn’t include success in football as the Red Raiders advanced to their fourth-consecutive bowl appearance, while the men’s basketball program moved on to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, falling late to eventual national champion Florida.

GLASCO IN RARE COMPANY IN WCWS HISTORY

Much has been said about Gerry Glasco‘s impact since being named Texas Tech’s head coach last summer, taking the Red Raiders from the fringes of the NCAA postseason all the way to Oklahoma City in less than a calendar year. Glasco quickly transformed Texas Tech’s roster, holding on to important pieces like outfielder Demi Elder and the nation’s top recruiting class while adding mainstays in the lineup in All-American pitcher NiJaree Canady and All-Big 12 first team honorees Mihyia Davis and Alana Johnson, among others.

That roster has gelled into one of the nation’s top teams, especially late in the season as Texas Tech enters the WCWS semifinals riding an 11-game winning streak that dates back to its final Big 12 series at BYU. Texas Tech already completed a series of “firsts” after earning a national seed for the first time, hosting the NCAA Lubbock Regional for the first time and advancing to its first-ever NCAA Super Regional where the Red Raiders went on the road to sweep Florida State over two games.

Texas Tech’s two wins already this week in Oklahoma City have accomplished another “first,” this time for Glasco, marking the first time a first-year head coach has advanced to the WCWS semifinals since Hall of Fame coach Yvette Girouard at LSU in 2001. Like Glasco, Girouard departed a successful Louisiana program for a new opportunity as she took the Tigers to four-consecutive WCWS appearances to start her tenure in Baton Rouge. LSU had to overcome an opening-game loss to Stanford to advance to the 2001 semifinals, however, rebounding to top Iowa and Oklahoma before falling to UCLA in 13 innings to end its season.

In total, Glasco is only the sixth first-year head coach to advance to the semifinals since the first WCWS in 1982. That list also includes a pair of Nebraska head coaches in Wayne Daigle (1984) and Ron Wolforth (1987) as well as Lou Piel at South Carolina (1983) and UCLA’s Sue Enquist, who led the Bruins to nine WCWS appearances with three titles in her own Hall of Fame career.

Of the head coaches who advanced to the WCWS semifinals in their first year, Glasco and Enquist are the only two to do so by winning their first two games in Oklahoma City. UCLA, with Enquist as its co-head coach alongside Sharron Backus, went 5-0 in Oklahoma City en route to winning the 1989 national championship, its second in a three-year run of hoisting the trophy.

A HIGHLIGHT WORTHY PLAY

Texas Tech took over social media Saturday night with its daring move to steal home with two outs in the fifth inning. In less than 24 hours since, Lubbock native Makayla Garcia’s game-opening run has been widely seen across every social media platform as Texas Tech’s softball accounts have generated more than 3.2 million impressions since Saturday. That does not include the additional interactions the Red Raiders have received thanks to the play being shared by the likes of ESPN, Major League Baseball and the NCAA Softball account, among others.

 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

??ESPN | https://t.co/5fj3lk6mhr https://t.co/fUXhDAlxVM pic.twitter.com/RSyNV3N9Ea

— Texas Tech Softball (@TexasTechSB) June 1, 2025

OKLAHOMA CITY HAS BEEN GREAT TO THE RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech improved to 5-0 at Devon Field in Oklahoma City this season Saturday night following its 3-1 victory over UCLA. The Red Raiders appear more than comfortable in the neutral-site environment as Texas Tech has combined to outscore its opponents, 30-1, this season in Oklahoma City. UCLA’s lone run Saturday on a leadoff home run from Kaniya Bragg to start the fifth snapped a streak of 30.0 consecutive shutout innings at Devon Field this season for the Red Raiders, who previously downed Baylor (4-0), Arizona State (18-0, 5 innings) and Arizona (4-0) in the Big 12 Tournament and then Ole Miss (1-0) in their WCWS opener.

WHO WILL IT BE? INSIDE THE POTENTIAL OREGON OR OKLAHOMA MATCHUP

Thanks to its 2-0 start to the Women’s College World Series, Texas Tech will only need to beat either Oklahoma or Oregon in one of two potential opportunities Monday night to advance to the championship series. Here’s a look at each of those series histories entering Monday night’s semifinals.

Oregon – The Red Raiders are only 3-7 all-time against the Ducks as the two schools have mainly faced each other historically in early-season tournaments and never in postseason play. Texas Tech has won the last two meetings against the Ducks after a 4-3 victory in 2010 at the season-opening Arizona State Kajikawa Classic and then a 5-0 shutout in 2019 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Each of the 10 previous meetings in the series have come at a neutral site, similar to what Monday’s potential matchup would be at Devon Field.

Oklahoma – Texas Tech has a vast history against the Sooners after the two schools were Big 12 Conference members from 1996 until this season when Oklahoma departed for the SEC. If the Sooners were to get past the Ducks, Texas Tech will need to reverse recent history in order to advance to the championship series as Oklahoma has won 36-consecutive games against the Red Raiders. Texas Tech’s last win in the series actually came in the state of Oklahoma as the Red Raiders delivered a 5-4 victory on April 6, 2012, in the second game of a three-game conference series. Ashley Hamada scored the game-winning run in the seventh after stealing third base and then racing home on an errant throw to left field. The one-run lead was enough for Cara Custer to retire 5th-ranked Oklahoma in order in the bottom half as she needed only three pitches to deliver Texas Tech’s first victory over a top-five ranked team at the time since defeating Texas A&M, 6-2, on April 29, 2007.