ESPN's Pat McAfee talks 'electrifying' performance from Texas Tech, NiJaree Canady
Following a thrilling victory over Oklahoma in the Women's College World Series semifinal on Monday night, the entire sporting world was talking about the Red Raiders. From ESPN to Patrick Mahomes, everyone seems caught up in Texas Tech's magical run to the WCWS Championship series.
Discussing the incredible game on Tuesday, ESPN's Pat McAfee called the performance "electrifying" and praised Texas Tech's aggressive pursuit of star pitcher NiJaree Canady during the offseason.
"Top of the 7th, Oklahoma hits a two-run shot on NiJaree Canady. She's from Stanford. They got a million-dollar recruiting whenever she hit the transfer portal. And now, you know, there's always going to be people saying, 'Oh, Texas Tech is just buying is just buying a victory.' It's like, that's what college sports are. And if women's college softball [players] are making a million dollars, I think that's good for sports. That's not bad for sports."
McAfee went on to discuss the other teams that were in pursuit of Canady, including Alabama with the help of Nick Saban.
"And she's lived up to it. She was the college player of the year last year. Obviously, she was highly sought after. I think there was a story about Alabama recruiting her, and maybe coach [Nick] Saban saying, 'how can I help?' I think there were some other schools that were trying to put everything together to get her to go there. She ends up at Texas Tech, and now they're in the final.
"Congratulations to women's softball. People are making a million bucks, and it's electrifying."
NiJaree Canady has thrown every single pitch for Texas Tech in the College World Series..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 3, 2025
Women's Softball has been ELECTRIFYING#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/8QH6GHWlFN
The Red Raiders will look to continue their magical run on Wednesday, facing Texas in the WCWS Championship. It's the first time in 21 years that two teams from the same state will be competing for the championship. For Texas Tech, there's no better ending to this story than to raise the championship trophy for the first time in school history by knocking off the Longhorns.
Game 1 between No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 6 Texas is set to take place on Wednesday, June 4 at 7 pm CT on ESPN.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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