Texas Tech softball is just two wins away from its first-ever Women’s College World Series championship — a feat in which NiJaree Canady has played a large role.

The Stanford sophomore has been the catalyst for the Red Raiders in the postseason, not only pitching every inning since the start of the Tallahassee Super Regional, but also contributing at the plate with her power. The Red Raiders are going to ride their $1 million arm as far as she can carry them.

REQUIRED READING: Hurt feelings: How Texas Tech softball ended the Oklahoma dynasty in the Women’s College World Series

Texas Tech takes on in-state foe Texas in the game WCWS championship series starting on June 4. Regardless of who emerges triumphant, the first to two wins in the best-of-three-game championship series will hoist the national title trophy for the first time in program history.

While Canady continues to dominate on the big stage, here’s what you need to know about her, including where she is from and why she transferred to Texas Tech:

Where is NiJaree Canady from?

Canady hails from Topeka, Kansas. She attended Topeka High School, where, in addition to being a softball star, she also gained acclaim as a four-star basketball recruit. However, she stopped basketball as a senior to focus on softball after committing to Stanford on Oct. 12, 2021. She was ranked the No. 11 overall recruit in the 2022 recruiting class by Extra Innings Softball.

As a junior in high school, she recorded 232 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings with a 21-0 record and a 0.26 ERA. She also hit .478 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs, previewing what her bat could do as a two-way player at the next level. Canady’s performance led Topeka to a state championship, and she earned Kansas Softball Gatorade Player of the Year honors.

She had averaged 20.6 points per game and 12.3 rebounds per game, leading her team to a runner-up finish during her junior season of basketball.

After deciding to focus solely on softball, Canady went 13-1 in her senior season with a 0.84 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings. She also hit .530 with seven home runs, 37 runs scored, and 42 RBIs. She led the Trojans to a second straight state championship and was once again named the Kansas Softball Gatorade Player of the Year.

Why did NiJaree Canady transfer from Stanford to Texas Tech?

While Lubbock, Texas, is significantly closer to Topeka than Stanford, California, that did not seem to be a major factor in why Canady picked the Red Raiders as her playing destination. Despite holding offers from softball powers such as Oklahoma, Texas and UCLA, Canady committed to first-year Red Raiders coach Gerry Glasco for numerous reasons.

Perhaps the biggest is the NIL figure Texas Tech offered. Canady got paid handsomely to transfer from Stanford to Texas Tech: a one-year, $1.05 million NIL contract. The second reason was the opportunity to bat more often. At Stanford, she got a total of 35 plate appearances over two seasons. She blasted two home runs in that small sample size, showing off her potential at the plate.

After Glasco offered her the chance to play both ways, Canady has run with it. In 128 plate appearances this season, she has a .297 batting average, .438 on-base percentage and a .683 slugging percentage with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs.

NiJaree Canady stats

Here’s a look at Canady’s pitching stats through three collegiate seasons at Stanford and Texas Tech:

• 2023 (Stanford): 13-3 record with four saves, nine complete games, seven shutouts, 0.59 ERA, 209 strikeouts, 21 walks and a .142 batting average against in 118 innings, 32 appearances (23 starts)
• 2024 (Stanford): 23-7 record with five saves, 24 complete games, nine shutouts, 0.73 ERA, 337 strikeouts, 44 walks and a .147 batting average against in 230 ⅔ innings, 41 appearances (29 starts)
• 2025 (Texas Tech): 33-5 record with two saves, 21 complete games, seven shutouts, 0.90 ERA, 304 strikeouts, 44 walks and a .153 batting average against in 226 innings, 43 appearances (34 starts)

And here’s a look at Canady’s hitting stats through three collegiate seasons at Stanford and Texas Tech:

• 2023 (Stanford): .111 batting average, .200 on-base percentage, 0 home runs, 1 RBI in 9 at-bats
• 2024 (Stanford): .154 batting average, .267 on-base percentage, 2 home runs, 3 RBI, in 26 at-bats
• 2025 (Texas Tech): .297 batting average, .438 on-base percentage, 11 home runs, 34 RBI in 101 at-bats

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Ole Miss right-handed pitcher Cole Ketchum has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after three seasons in Oxford, he revealed via social media this week.

The talented Mississippi native made an impression as a true freshman in 2023 after making 15 appearances.

Ketchum worked 19 total innings while striking out 13 batters.

He made his collegiate debut against Arkansas State where he worked one a hitless inning, and from there, did not allow a run through his first four appearances.

After a solid 2023 campaign, Ketchum did not see any action during both his sophomore and redshirt-sophomore seasons in 2024 and 2025.

Now, the Magnolia State native will hit the free agent market in search of a new home.

Ketchum joins multiple Rebels to depart Oxford this week with the NCAA Transfer Portal officially open for business.

The Key Departure: Jackson Miller

Infielder Jackson Miller will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal after one season in Oxford, he revealed via social media on Monday.

The former Top-200 prospect in the 2024 Recruiting Cycle signed with the Rebels out of high school after selecting Ole Miss over a myriad of programs.

Now, after just one year in the Magnolia State, Miller will depart and enter the free agent market.

“After much thought and consideration I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal,” Miller wrote on social media. “I’m thankful for my time at Ole Miss and excited for the next opportunity in my college baseball journey.”

During his high school campaign, Miller led Benjamin (Fla.) High School to a state title during his senior season while hitting .475.

He was named Sun Sentinel Player of the Year for the second time after handling business during his time in the Sunshine State.

Other Departures:
– Tyler Acevedo: Infielder
– Hudson Mattox: Pitcher

Ole Miss Football Target, Top-10 Quarterback in America Earns Elite 11 Invite

Ole Miss Basketball Beats Out North Carolina Tar Heels, UCONN for Top-50 Prospect

Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Lands in Early Top-25, Named ‘Offseason Winners’

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.

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Al Lesar
 |  Shopper News

• Cayden Baker is a social media intern for Tennessee Mojo, making regular posts and announcements, and giving top players advice on recruiting and name, image and likeness financial deals.
• The former Powell High softball player also is a UT student, owns a business and works part time as a receptionist.

As if owning a business wasn’t enough … or working a second job … or having a time-consuming internship … or carrying a full class load at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville … Cayden Baker’s days — and nights — are full, even without the game of softball that she once loved so much.

Baker, a 2021 Powell High School graduate, had a great softball career at Powell and with the Tennessee Mojo elite summer travel team. She was good enough to get recruited by Texas A&M.

She started 43 games and played in all 52 as a freshman infielder. She hit .261 and didn’t make an error.

However, after a coaching change, the new coach cut four players and Baker was one of them.

She landed at Georgia Tech. Just before the start of the spring season, Baker’s family had an emergency. When the Yellow Jackets’ coach refused to help her through the crisis, she left school and came home.

The last two years, with softball in the rear-view mirror, she has been working on finishing her degree in public relations at UT.

“I would not change anything in my high school or travel (softball) careers,” Baker said. “I had never played for a woman coach (as there were at A&M and Georgia Tech) before. That was hard to get used to. There were way more emotions involved than I had ever seen.”

Knowing customers is essential

Though she has a 3.7 GPA and will graduate at the end of the summer, Baker didn’t come back home to sit back and relax. Her mother, DeLinda, owns Emory Station Nutrition and The Baby Station in Powell. Since they already knew the business, buying Halls Nutrition (which is now The Place Nutrition, 6663 Maynardville Pike in Halls) in December 2022 made sense.

“People think owning a business is a luxury,” Baker said. “It’s a lot of work. You have to prioritize it, keep up with the trends. Customer service is so important. If you don’t know a customer’s name and past order, you’re doing something wrong.”

The Place Nutrition specializes in energy drinks, protein shakes and teas. 

Baker, who relies on a quality manager to run the store, works at The Place Nutrition on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays she is a receptionist at a beauty salon. Weekends are also consumed with work of some sort.

Decision time is coming

Staying in touch with softball by way of a social media internship for Tennessee Mojo scratches her itch for the game. Besides doing regular posts and announcements, she helps top players with advice on recruiting and name, image and likeness financial deals.

“Most of the NIL deals for softball come in the form of equipment or merchandise,” Baker said. “Only a few of the top, top players are getting big money. It’s not like football and (men’s and women’s) basketball.”

By the end of the summer, Baker will have a decision to make: Get more involved with the travel softball team, or dedicate a lot more time to The Place Nutrition.

“I’ve learned a lot about time management by doing all this,” she said. “I’ve learned to hold myself accountable for whatever needs to get done.”

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Rising pay for college athletes brings more planning risks and opportunities, prompting a new collaboration that will send Morgan Stanley financial advisors to campuses around the country.

Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment and “name, image and likeness” technology and management firm TheLinkU are teaming up with National Collegiate Athletic Association conferences and university athletic departments to deliver financial education to student athletes, the firms said last month. 

The program is launching as the compensation for athletes ranging from thousands of dollars to several million is leading to more efforts to boost financial literacy and explore some of the complex planning questions that come with NIL pay. And the rules governing that compensation — which has already shaken up college sports — may soon look much different, based on a current lawsuit.

The involvement of Morgan Stanley was “really important for me and for the athletes, because it gives instant credibility,” since both the wealth management company’s unit and TheLinkU aim to give the players “the tools to be successful,” said founder Austin Elrod. His firm works with athletes, athletic departments and colleges to maximize their NIL through identification of opportunities, contract management technology and other services. 

The education could turn into client relationships for the Morgan Stanley advisors and executives coaching the students if “the athletes determine that they would like to take the next steps,” Elrod said in an interview.

“It was important for me to make sure that we brought in the best of the best,” he said. “Having that brand power, that protection layer associated with this was really important. I knew that would increase the participation of the student athletes.”

READ MORE: Student-athletes need an assist with NIL taxes

Big pay, big challenges

NIL payments have created something of a “wild wild west” for athletes who have, in some cases, been receiving large checks since the NCAA legalized the compensation in 2021, according to Pat Brown, a wealth manager in the Lawrence, Kansas-based office of Creative Planning and the founder of Financial Literacy for Student Athletes. 

At the same time, the athletes are fielding interest from so-called agents or NIL firms demanding much higher commissions from them than those received by agents representing professional sports players, he noted. Brown, a former NCAA football player who became an advisor, speaks with college athletes and coaches them on financial topics on a pro bono basis. He has also launched a series of educational websites for athletes, their families and other niches, and, in recent months, at least four books: “Financial Literacy For NIL,”; “Financial Literacy For NIL for Parents of Student Athletes,” ; “Financial Literacy For NIL for High School Student Athletes,” ; and “Financial Literacy For NIL for International Student Athletes.”

An environment of growing overtures to the players from licensed experts and potential bad actors alike “forces the younger student-athlete to do their due diligence, sooner rather than later,” Brown said. And they have valid concerns about what will happen if they, like most NCAA athletes, can’t play their sport professionally, he added.

“If the end result is that the student athlete doesn’t make it to the next level, are you going to stick it out with that former student athlete as a client?” Brown said. “I don’t know how much some of this stuff is going to be sustainable.”

READ MORE: 6 tips for advisors to help rich young athlete clients with NIL

A huge but uncertain potential settlement

To that point, some aspects of NIL could see dramatic shifts in the rules for the compensation based on the pending settlement in the House v. NCAA case, a lawsuit filed by former student athletes over the revenue colleges receive from the broadcast rights to the sports. 

As many as 390,000 current and former athletes could get back payments amounting to $2.77 billion, and every Division I school could then share up to $20.5 million in media revenue with athletes from their colleges, starting on July 1. Any future NIL deals over $600 would need approval from a third-party clearinghouse deciding whether the contracts represent the “fair market value.” 

But the agreement between the parties hasn’t received final approval from the judge in the case. And legislative action by Congress or an executive order from the White House could alter the guidelines further.

In that murky landscape, the more than 300 Morgan Stanley advisors in the sports and entertainment unit could offer the athletes some valuable financial education and advice. 

“College athletics has seen unprecedented change over the past few years,” Sandra Richards, head of the Morgan Stanley unit, said in a statement. “The need for financial education and guidance has become increasingly critical for college athletes, parents, coaches, and other stakeholders.”

READ MORE: Athlete turned advisor tackles financial literacy at his alma mater

An opportunity and a need

And that will be especially true after the terms of the House settlement will “allow billions of dollars to flow to student athletes from institutions,” said Elrod. Currently, the firms are planning advisors’ trips to speak with teams from three conferences — the Big 12, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Conference-USA — with more possible agreements on the way.

Regardless of the complex negotiations ongoing over possible limits on NCAA rosters or future laws, advisors should educate themselves about the ramifications of the settlement and how working with college athletes is different from planning for pro sports players, he said.

“If you do that, you’re going to see all the opportunities that are coming from this space and the need,” Elrod said. “The more good and smart, savvy people we have in this space, the better.”