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Why ace NiJaree Canady transferred to Texas Tech

Published

7 months ago

May 16, 2025

Dave WilsonMay 16, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
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LUBBOCK, Texas — Last July, pitcher NiJaree Canady shook college sports when she announced her transfer to Texas Tech and landed the richest softball NIL deal ever.

The reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year bolted from the hallowed halls of Stanford, where she had become a superstar after piloting the Cardinal to two straight Women’s College World Series appearances, finishing in the final four teams both times. Her new home would be on the arid plains of West Texas at a school that had never won a conference title and had won just 49% of its games — and 31% of its league games since the advent of the Big 12.

The transfer was met with awe: The Matador Club, Texas Tech’s NIL collective, made a historic play for Canady, offering a one-year, $1,050,024 contract (a million for Canady, $50k for living expenses, $24 for her jersey number).

Just more than a month after Red Raiders coach Gerry Glasco — who was hired from Louisiana on June 20, three days after Canady had entered the portal and started lining up visits — arrived in Lubbock, he landed the most valuable player in the country. He did it by pulling out all the stops, including recruiting calls from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Canady, a Kansan who is a devoted Kansas City Chiefs fan.

Glasco, who didn’t have much in the way of NIL in Lafayette, had suddenly walked into what he believed was the best softball situation in America. Two of the Matador Club’s biggest boosters — Tracy Sellers, a former Tech softball player, and her husband, John, an oil and gas executive and former Red Raiders football player under Mike Leach — had been supporting softball for years. They donated $11 million to the athletic department in 2022, with $1 million designated for softball stadium upgrades.

Glasco said he was told Canady’s agent was initially seeking $400,000, which he thought was low for her to leave Stanford, where she was already a budding legend.

“My message was: We’re talking about Bo Jackson. We’re talking about Herschel Walker,” Glasco told the Sellers. “We’re talking about a once-in-a-generation player that’s already made a name all over America. She’s a folk hero in our sport and she’s a sophomore.”

Tracy thought it was worth making a statement at Texas Tech, a place where Sheryl Swoopes became a superstar and where the highway outside Rocky Johnson Field is named for former Red Raiders women’s basketball coach Marsha Sharp. After meeting with the star pitcher, Sellers decided if anyone was worthy of such an emphatic statement about investing in women’s sports, it was Canady.

“She is a wonderful human being,” Sellers said. “We look at it as they deserve it just as much [as male athletes]. She worked so hard to be the No. 1 pitcher in the country. … I left that meeting and thought, this is who I would love to put a lot of effort into because of who she is.”

Canady knew the spotlight would come with the news, but she hopes it opens the door for those who follow her to reap the benefits.

“There are a lot of male athletes who get that and it’s not a headline anymore,” Canady said. “I hope that happens for women’s sports, too. I feel like it can be a pressure if you let it be, but honestly, I think it’s just a privilege. I hope someone tomorrow comes in and builds it even more.”

Looking back at the Sellers’ donation for the softball facilities, the same size investment in Canady had a greater transformative impact.

This year, the Red Raiders won their first Big 12 regular-season and conference titles while Canady led the nation with a 0.81 ERA. She went 26-5, racking up the second-most wins in a season in school history. She was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. On Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET, No. 12 seed Texas Tech (45-12), hosting its first Lubbock Regional, will play Brown (33-15).

“She definitely put Texas Tech softball on the map,” Tracy said.

CANADY WANTS TO make one thing clear: There’s more to the story than just a giant deposit.

“I feel like people thought I heard the number and just came to Texas Tech, which wasn’t the case at all,” she said she considered Tech’s offer for more than a month before she committed. “If I didn’t feel like Coach Glasco was an amazing coach and could lead this program to be where we thought it could be, I wouldn’t have come.”

Glasco, 66, is a wildly successful late bloomer in the softball world who won five conference titles with six trips to the NCAA regionals in six seasons at Louisiana. He wasn’t hired until Canady had already entered the portal, so he had to make up ground quickly, because he wasn’t exactly in the sweepstakes in Lafayette. But he had a secret weapon: Glasco was friends with Jim Huecker, a former travel ball coach and Canady’s longtime coach. And he knew what Huecker knew: Canady missed hitting as much as she loved pitching.

Canady grew up in Topeka, Kansas, as a multisport star, including playing basketball and tackle football against boys. On her girls’ basketball team in high school, Canady averaged 20.6 points and 12.3 rebounds during her junior year, leading Topeka High to the Kansas 6A state finals while also being the two-time Kansas Softball Gatorade Player of the Year and leading the team to its first two state titles. She dominated in the circle, obviously, but also hit .478 with 13 homers as a junior and .530 with 42 RBIs as a senior. After hitting just 35 times in two seasons at Stanford, Canady wanted to get back to being an all-around athlete.

And Glasco, who directed record-setting offenses as an assistant at Georgia and Texas A&M, surprised Canady by making hitting a centerpiece of his presentation, which comprised a stack of handwritten stat sheets and charts.

“That’s my lineup,” Glasco said, holding up the same poster he used to pitch Canady. “If you look, I’ve got ’em all and I’m promising her how many runs I’m going to score. The coaches wanted to put it in Excel, make it nice, but I said, ‘No, no, no. I want it because NiJa has to trust me. If it’s in my handwriting, this is better than on a computer because it has to be personal.’ I believe that was important.”

On most visits, Canady spent the bulk of her time with pitching coaches. But in Lubbock, Canady was so interested that she spent more time on her visit meeting with Glasco than she did with Tara Archibald, Glasco’s daughter who serves as associate head coach and pitching coach.

“I think I talked to Coach Tara maybe 20-30 minutes about pitching and then the rest of the time was just Coach Glasco talking about hitting,” Canady said. “Afterward, I had to go back and talk to Coach Tara a little more just because Coach Glasco and I spent so much time just talking about hitting, going through different swings, watching videos. And that was definitely different just because other schools were obviously more focused on my pitching.”

When Archibald left her head coaching job at Eastern Illinois, where she went 40-17 last season, to join her father’s staff July 3, she couldn’t have imagined landing Canady. But first, she had to wait on her dad, who can spin a few yarns.

Glasco coached his three daughters: Tara, Erin and the late Geri Ann, a former Gatorade National Player of the Year who died in a 2019 car accident when she was a volunteer coach for him at Louisiana.

“This is why I think I could identify with her,” Glasco said. “All three of my daughters pitched and played and hit. And when you’re an athlete, the one thing you don’t want to be is a pitcher only. In our sport, the pitcher is so important, so we limit them. And I think that’s what she felt like in her college career. … She wants the opportunity.”

Despite dealing with a soft-tissue injury in March and being limited, Canady has 81 at-bats this year, batting .309 with five doubles and eight homers. She leads the team with a .457 on-base percentage, thanks to her 13 walks and being hit by a pitch 10 times. Still, she takes violent cuts, looking to send the ball into orbit any chance she gets.

“I’m definitely trying to hit the ball out,” Canady said. “And that’s Coach Glasco’s motto, too. He loves the long ball.”

CANADY SAID THERE wasn’t much culture shock going from Palo Alto to Lubbock. She is from Topeka, after all.

“Lubbock reminds me more of home,” she said.

The major difference, she said, has been the atmosphere in Lubbock. Located five hours from Dallas and six from Austin, it’s its own outpost in West Texas. The Red Raiders are a devoted bunch.

“I think that was the biggest shock to me, just about how much sports matter here in Texas,” she said. “I remember my first football game here and just seeing how many people were here, that was definitely different.”

That legendary arm has proved useful at Tech football games, where she has admitted to sneaking in tortillas and winging them down toward the field, a tradition in Lubbock.

“There’s a whole science behind getting it far,” she said. “You have to put a hole in the center. There’s a certain way to throw it.”

And it didn’t hurt that another Red Raider with a legendary arm has become a big fan and made his own recruiting pitch. Canady, a huge Chiefs fan, was shocked when Mahomes interrupted his vacation in Italy to call her on her visit.

“I’m not going to say any names, but another program had a very important person call me and there was no caller ID, so I couldn’t call him back or anything,” Canady said. “But Patrick Mahomes, I have his number, I can reach out to him. So I think that’s cool. Last July, we were eating lunch and had a beautiful view of the whole football stadium. Someone told me, just send a picture to Patrick to see if he responds. He’s preparing for the season and then I think within 10 minutes he got back to me.”

Canady has that kind of star power, and she’ll undoubtedly draw more players who want to play alongside her next year, with more time for Glasco to work instead of the quick-assembly project he put together last season. Glasco thinks this year’s Red Raiders team can take anyone to the wire because of Canady, but is confident he can contend for a national championship next year, if not this year.

“I’ve never coached anybody close to her,” he said. “I’ve never coached this kind of pitcher in college. It has a huge effect. It makes up for a lot of bad coaching mistakes, I’ll tell you that.”

The partnership impacted all parties involved. She says it was hard to leave Stanford, her teammates and coaches behind, and yes, that Stanford degree. But Canady’s dream is to coach kids and open her own facility — or facilities — and her family feels the money will help her get there quickly.

“She wants to teach little girls to hit,” Glasco said. “She loves little kids. You can see it when she signs autographs.”

And it doesn’t hurt to have the Sellers in her corner.

“Why would you not want people you love to succeed? And so same with NiJa. I would go into business any day with her,” Tracy said. “She’s a celebrity in Lubbock, Texas. It’s not just about money. I really hope that story gets out about her.”

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Alabama Football Player Uses NIL Money to Give Tuscaloosa Kids a Brighter Christmas

Published

36 minutes ago

December 23, 2025

Your Sports Nation

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On Monday, December 22, Brailsford — the starting center for the Alabama Crimson Tide — hosted a Holiday Shopping event at the Target on 13th Avenue East in Tuscaloosa. Using his own NIL money, Brailsford treated ten children from underserved communities to a Christmas shopping spree, giving each child a gift card to shop for themselves.

“I really wanna make their day,” Brailsford said. “I mean, that’s what this is really about for me.”

The children moved eagerly through the aisles, selecting toys and gifts while checking items off their Christmas lists.

Brailsford said the event was funded entirely through his own NIL earnings.

The sophomore has already made an impact on the field this season, earning SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors multiple times. Off the field, he said giving back has always been important to him.

Adopted as a baby, Brailsford said he grew up with enough, even if his family did not have much.

“We didn’t necessarily have a lot, but we had enough,” he said. “Being able to give back to kids that don’t always have that opportunity at Christmas is something special to me.”

Brailsford is currently studying social work and said he hopes to work with children after school in the future.

“I really want to be able to get into that field and help kids in any way I can,” he said.

While he continues to gain recognition on the football field, Brailsford said moments like the holiday shopping event are just as meaningful.

“I feel like I’m good at helping people,” he said. “That’s something that fulfills me. It’s my purpose in a way.”

For the children involved, the shopping trip was more than just receiving gifts. It was an experience shared with a role model who hopes to continue giving back long after the holidays are over.

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College Football Playoff team has ‘significant interest’ in 4,000-yard QB

Published

1 hour ago

December 23, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Indiana’s rise from perennial Big Ten bottom feeders into national title contenders has been one of college football’s most compelling stories in 2025.

Under second-year head coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers finished the regular season undefeated at 13-0, captured the program’s first Big Ten title since 1967, and earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza capped the breakthrough season by winning the school’s first-ever Heisman Trophy, throwing for 2,980 yards with 33 touchdown passes and a 71.5% completion rate that helped propel Indiana into national contention.

That success now intersects with a separate transfer-cycle storyline: North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker, the FBS passing leader (4,129 yards, 31 touchdowns, 70.2% completion rate), is likely to enter the transfer portal when the window opens in January.

On a December 19 episode of “College Football Insiders,” CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer connected the dots.

“He can be somebody you can build your program around for multiple years,” Hummer said. “I’ve heard the same about Indiana. I think they do have a significant interest in Drew Mestemaker, and I think he would be a really good fit for their system.”

North Texas Mean Green quarterback Drew Mestemaker. — North Texas Mean Green quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) throws a pass against Army | Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Mestemaker is a former walk-on who emerged as the nation’s passing leader this season as a redshirt freshman, posting multiple 300-yard performances and a 608-yard outing in North Texas’ 54–20 win over Charlotte, a game that set single-game passing yardage records for both the school and the American Athletic Conference.

His breakout year earned him the Burlsworth Trophy, American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, and first-team All-American recognition.

There are clear reasons the fit is being discussed publicly.

Indiana has demonstrated a clear willingness to use transfers to accelerate competitiveness, most notably with Kurtis Rourke’s arrival as a graduate transfer in 2024, followed by Mendoza’s move from Cal.

Both quarterbacks produced elite statistical seasons that propelled the Hoosiers to winning campaigns.

If Mendoza ultimately declares for the 2026 NFL Draft, which is widely expected, Indiana would need either an internal successor or a portal option who can step in at Power-5 level speed.

Mestemaker’s profile checks several boxes: production, track record under a pro-style system, and remaining eligibility.

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Adam Breneman Highlights Why College Football Will Fail Under Greg Sankey’s Leadership Amid Transfer Portal, NIL Issues

Published

2 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Former Penn State tight end Adam Breneman, on the Will Ventures podcast, revealed his true feelings on the current landscape of college football and the implications of the decisions made by some leaders in the game.

Breneman, on his podcast appearance, highlighted how no one’s actually in charge of college football, whilst also strongly advocating for a college football commissioner.

“No one’s actually in charge of college football. We need a college football commissioner”, Breneman stated on the podcast.

Despite college football not having a designated commissioner, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is one of the most powerful college football figures and is often touted to be in charge of college football as a whole.

Breneman further revealed that Sankey is also in charge of other sports like golf, diving, lacrosse, and men’s & women’s basketball, stating that college football needs a commissioner who will make decisions for the betterment of college football, implying that it’s tough to do that while you have other things on your plate.

“Greg Sankey is also in charge of golf and swimming and diving and men’s basketball and women’s basketball and lacrosse has to make the best decisions for those sports as well. No one’s actually in charge of college football”, Breneman highlighted.

“We need a college football commissioner who actually is in charge of college football and can make decisions for college football because what’s best for college football is not what’s best for men’s basketball”, he further elaborated.

The former ASU tight end coach’s comments come on the backdrop of college football going through a turbulent period as far as player transfers, NIL issues, and the overall backlash the playoff committee is facing as far as the selection of the 2025 playoff teams is concerned.

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Greg Sankey Pushes for Expansion to a 16-Team College Football Playoff

Sankey recently appeared on The Rich Eisen Show this December, emphasizing the need to adopt a 16-team playoff format, potentially moving away from the current 12-team format, while also keeping in mind other conferences and their playoff qualification, which was a point of contention amongst analysts and fans alike.

Meanwhile, the college football portal, which is set to officially open in January 2026, has already seen a record number of entries, with the likes of star QBs like DJ Lagway and Dylan Raiola entering, potentially fueled by NIL incentives.

College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!

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Major college football program loses 15 players to transfer portal

Published

3 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

USC defensive tackle Devan Thompkins, a 6-5, 290-pound veteran who started 12 games in 2025, announced his intention to enter the NCAA transfer portal on December 17.

Thompkins finished the 2025 season with 31 combined tackles (18 solo), three sacks, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble; across three seasons at USC, he compiled 56 total tackles (32 solo), 4.5 sacks, and five pass breakups.

Those figures made him one of the more productive interior linemen on a unit that struggled at times but improved to finish ranked and bowl-eligible.

USC closed the 2025 regular season 9–3 (7–2 Big Ten) and will face TCU in the Valero Alamo Bowl on December 30, a season that left the program ranked inside the top 25 (No. 16) but short of College Football Playoff contention.

The Trojans’ record and bowl bid reflect progress under head coach Lincoln Riley while also exposing lingering gaps across the roster.

Those gaps have since been amplified, as Thompkins’ departure brings USC’s total number of players set to test the transfer market to 15.

Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley. — Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The list of known departures is sizable and spread across position groups.

According to 247Sports, the 15 players who have announced portal entries include: WR DJ Jordan, RB Bryan Jackson, CB Braylon Conley, DE Gus Cordova, OL Makai Saina, S Steve Miller, LB Matai Tagoa‘i, DL Carlon Jones, S Anthony Beavers Jr., OL Micah Banuelos, LB Garrison Madden, RB Harry Dalton, WR Prince Strachan, TE Walker Lyons, and Thompkins.

That grouping hits starters across the trenches, secondary, and skill positions — areas that will require immediate replacements via the portal, incoming freshmen, and retained depth.

After a successful five-year run at Oklahoma from 2017 to 2021, Riley took over as USC’s head coach in November 2021 and has delivered steady results built on quarterback development, high-powered offenses, and aggressive recruiting, highlighted by USC securing the No. 1-ranked 2026 recruiting class.

The current exodus provides the latest test for Riley as USC works to build toward a stronger Big Ten finish in 2026.

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Joey McGuire Compares Oregon to Texas Tech Amid Increased NIL Spending

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Texas Tech Red Raiders Joey McGuire college football playoff oregon ducks dan lanning phil knight NIL booster cody campbell — Dec 6, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire celebrates with the Big 12 Championship trophy after the game against the BYU Cougars at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Oregon Ducks Nike co-founder Phil Knight world headquarters Beaverton Dante Moore Dan Lanning Shoe Duck Elliott Hill — Dec 6, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire celebrates with the Big 12 Championship trophy after the game against the BYU Cougars at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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65-year-old college football coach surges as candidate to replace Sherrone Moore at Michigan

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The last of the Power Four college football head coaching openings remains available at Michigan.

The Wolverines decided to part ways with head coach Sherrone Moore on Dec. 10 due to inappropriate relations with a staffer. Michigan had its sights set on Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham and Washington head coach Jedd Fisch.

Though nothing was made official, Fisch was the first to bow out of the race. Alabama’s College Football Playoff victory over Oklahoma eliminated DeBoer from the conversation, and Dillingham inked an extension with Arizona State on Saturday.

With all of those candidates off the board, one who has emerged in the next round is current Wolverines interim Biff Poggi. The interim said he had been interviewed for the job on multiple occasions this offseason.

Biff Poggi says he’s had multiple interviews for Michigan’s HC position. He also has some blunt words about the program’s shortcomings under Sherrone Moore, calling Michigan a “malfunctioning organization.”

“Everything that happens in this building has to be reevaluated.”

— Austin Meek (@byAustinMeek) December 22, 2025

Poggi began his college football coaching career as an assistant with stops at Brown, Temple and the Citadel in the late 1980s. He coached at his high school alma mater, The Gilman School, as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 1988 to 1995. He spent the next 20 seasons as Gilman’s head coach before returning to the college ranks.

The now 65-year-old spent two prior stints with the Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh. He worked as an analyst with the 2016 team and served as Michigan’s associate head coach in 2021 and 2022.

Poggi was hired away from Michigan to succeed Will Healy as Charlotte’s next head coach in the 2023 offseason. The 49ers were 3-9 in Poggi’s first year at the helm, tying for eleventh place in the American Athletic Conference.

After a 3-7 start to the 2024 season, Charlotte decided to part ways with Poggi. The 49ers hired Tim Albin as his replacement for 2025.

This will not be the first time Poggi has served as the Wolverines’ interim head coach. He was the interim for Michigan’s games against Central Michigan and Nebraska.

The Wolverines accepted an invitation to the Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. No. 18 Michigan (9-3, 7-2) will face No. 13 Texas (9-3, 6-2) on Dec. 31 (3 p.m. EST, ABC).