Former Stanford softball pitcher NiJaree Canady is heading to the Big 12.
The USA Softball Player of the Year announced Wednesday that she would be transferring to Texas Tech. According to The Athletic, Canady is receiving a deal of just over $1 million from the school’s name, image and likeness collective to come to Lubbock.
“It’s a game-changer for softball, and even beyond that,” Matador Club co-founder John Sellers told the Athletic. “She could have gone anywhere, but she’s coming to Tech.”
Canady announced that she was transferring from Stanford not long after the College World Series. She’s been Stanford’s ace for the past two seasons and has totaled 528 strikeouts over her first two seasons in college.
Over 41 games in 2024, Canady had a 0.73 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP. She struck out a whopping 337 batters in 230.2 innings and gave up just 116 hits and 44 walks. Opposing batters totaled just 24 extra-base hits against her and batted .147.
A potential transfer to the state of Texas isn’t too surprising after Texas lost to Oklahoma in the CWS finals. Multiple top-tier programs were pursuing Canady to add to the top of their rotations and it’s a mild surprise that she chose Texas Tech — at least based on the team’s results on the field. Her NIL deal is assuredly one of the biggest in college sports for the upcoming school year.
The Red Raiders were just 29-21 a season ago and finished 8-16 in the conference. Tech was just 3-9 at home in conference play.
The addition of Canady makes Texas Tech a favorite in the Big 12 in 2025 and gives the Red Raiders a decent chance at the College World Series given how often pitchers can throw in softball. Canady pitched in nearly two-thirds of Stanford’s games a season ago as the Cardinal went 50-17 before losing twice to the Longhorns in the College World Series. The final loss came on June 3 in a 1-0 defeat when Texas scratched out a run in the top of the seventh against Canady.
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