National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady signs with Texas Tech
July 25, 2024 | Softball
The best pitcher in the country joins the Red Raiders for the 2025 season
LUBBOCK, Texas – In his opening press conference as Texas Tech's new head coach, Gerry Glasco said he expected the Red Raiders to compete at a national level beginning with his first season.
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Glasco's projection received a significant boost this week as NiJaree Canady, the reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year, formally signed an athletic scholarship agreement to join the Red Raiders for the 2025 season. It is the latest signing by Glasco and his staff in recent weeks as the Red Raiders have now added the nation's top player to go with an already nationally-ranked signing class.
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"NiJaree is obviously a tremendous softball player," Glasco said. "But IÂ came to realize, during the recruiting process, that she is an excellent student and an outstanding person with extremely high character. She is patient, kind and thorough, and everything that she did during this process reflected that. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to know that we will be sharing the same field and dugout in the coming years."
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Canady's resume speaks for itself as she has been presented several honors during her career, including being named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year this past season. Canady was also recognized as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and an NFCA first team All-American in 2024 as well as an All-Pac 12 first team honoree and All-Pac 12 defensive team selection. Canady, who was a two-time NFCA National Pitcher of the Week pick, also excelled in the classroom, earning NFCA first team Academic All-America accolades.
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Canady's dominance in the circle showed to the tune of a nation-leading 337 strikeouts and otherworldly 0.73 ERA, which also led the nation. She was 24-7 overall in the circle this past season and an impressive 41-10 with an 0.67 ERA over her two seasons at Stanford as she helped push the Cardinal to the final four teams each year at the Women's College World Series. Canady also represented the U.S. this summer in the 2024 Japan All-Star Series.
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Canady, a native of Topeka, Kansas, was recognized with the prestigious Honda Sport Award this past season. The honor, presented by the Collegiate Women's Sports Awards, is given to the top women athletes in each sport and voted on by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA schools.
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Canady represents the ninth signee since Glasco was named Texas Tech's new head coach in June. Season tickets for Red Raider Softball are on sale for the first time as fans can secure their seat for the 2025 season with a $20 deposit placed here or by calling 806-742-TECH.
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