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Texas Tech softball head coach Gerry Glasco had nothing but praise for star pitcher NiJaree Canady, even as the team’s ace has been dealing with a left hamstring injury since late February. Glasco confirmed Canady’s injury status Tuesday, a day before the Red Raiders face Texas in the Women’s College World Series best-of-three championship series.
Canady downplayed the injury when asked about it, saying it wouldn’t affect her against the Longhorns and that the initial medical evaluation “said it was worse than it was,” as reported by Jake Trotter of ESPN.
Canady, who transferred from Stanford after last season, has been a driving force in Texas Tech’s first-ever WCWS appearance. She has pitched every inning for the Red Raiders in Oklahoma City, becoming the first player to do so in the WCWS for a team reaching the championship series since UCLA’s Rachel Garcia in 2019, according to ESPN Research.
This season, Canady holds a 32-5 record with an 0.86 ERA. She signed an NIL deal worth more than $1 million upon joining Texas Tech. Despite her hamstring injury, Glasco said Canady’s competitiveness has been on full display.
“To still have the results that she did showed what a tremendous competitor and what a tremendous talent she was,” Glasco said.
The coach added that had the injury been to Canady’s right hamstring, they would have had to “shut her down” for a significant amount of time. As it was, Texas Tech eliminated Canady’s bullpen sessions during the week and batting practice. Glasco noted that they scratched Canady’s start against South Carolina on March 21, though she pitched the following night.
Texas and Texas Tech will each be seeking their first softball national championship when they meet for the best-of-three series. Texas comes into the series after handing four-time defending champion Oklahoma its first WCWS loss, while the Red Raiders eliminated the Sooners 3-2 in dramatic fashion Monday night.
The championship opener on Wednesday night will feature a much-anticipated showdown between Canady and Texas ace Teagan Kavan.
“Obviously she’s going to hold offenses off quite a bit, and so it’s always in the back of your mind,” Kavan said. “It’s obviously fun, it’s a challenge, and I like when it’s a pitchers’ duel. … it’s just to compete in this atmosphere and against the best.”
