NiJaree Canady Struggles in College World Series Championship

A new champion in college softball has been crowned. On Friday evening, former Stanford star NiJaree Canady and the Texas Tech Red Raiders took on the Texas Longhorns in the third game of the best-of-three championship in the Women's College World Series, but came up short as they lost 10-4 and fell short of the program's first national title in softball.

Canady, who has pitched in every single game for Texas Tech during its postseason run, struggled in the season finale, lasting only one inning where she allowed five hits and five runs while striking out two. Dominant all postseason long, Canady had were worst outing of the season. This was likely attributed to her extremely high usage all year.

At the plate, Canady only went 0-for-1 with a strikeout, getting one at-bat before being removed from the game in favor of Chloe Riassetto. The Longhorns got off to a hot start in the game, scoring five times in the first inning-- highlighted by a three-run home run from Texas' Leighann Goode.

After Canaday was removed and Riassetto came in, the Longhorns tacked on another run in the sixth inning when Texas left fielder, Katie Stewart, hit an RBI double. The Longhorns then really ran away with things in the fourth inning when, with the bases loaded, third baseman Mia Scott hit a grand slam to make it 10-0.

The Red Raiders did manage to score three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth, but by then, it was too late to mount the comeback. While the Longhorns were the ones to win their first ever national title in softball, a strong season from Canady was a major reason why Texas Tech experienced its best season ever as a program, which included their first appearance in the championship.

Overall for the season, Canady finished her first campaign at Texas Tech with a 34-7 record, a 1.11 ERA in 46 appearances, striking out 319 batters while walking 46 in 240 innings. She also threw 23 complete games and had seven shutouts, continuing her role as one of college softball's best players.

On Friday it was also reported that Canady signed a new seven figure deal with the program, confirming her return for next season and proving how serious the Red Raiders are in running things back. Canady is now both the first and second player in college softball history to earn over $1 million per season.

Pitching for the Cardinal for two seasons, Canady was instrumental in Stanford qualifying for the Women's College World Series two straight times in 2023 and 2024. In total, Canady recorded a 41-10 win-loss record on The Farm with a 0.67 ERA in 74 appearances while striking out 555 batters in 365.2 innings pitched.