The All-American pitcher will start her pro career with the AUSL's Texas Volts.
LUBBOCK, Texas - Earlier this season, Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady received Athletes Unlimited Softball League's first Golden Ticket of the season, guaranteeing that the senior All-American would be picked in the 2026 AUSL Draft.
Now, with the draft beginning Monday evening for the 17 athletes who received Golden Tickets, Canady is one of the first off the board.
NiJaree Canady was selected with the second overall pick in the 2026 AUSL Draft by the Texas Volts. Tennessee hurler Karlyn Pickens went first overall to the Carolina Blaze.
"I'm just excited, honestly," Canady said in an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter prior to the draft. "I love softball, I feel like it's given me so many opportunities. I've met so many amazing people, so I'm excited to continue my career."
The AUSL will begin its second season, but first with each team belonging to a home city.
The Red Raider star, who is about to embark on her second postseason run with Texas Tech in the coming days, begins her pro career as one of the biggest names in the sport.
Canady is the two-time reigning National Pitcher of the Year and is on the way to becoming a four-time All-American. She notably became college softball's first million-dollar player after the massive NIL package lured her from Stanford to Texas Tech for her junior and senior seasons.
She's lived up to all the expectations, especially for a Red Raiders program entering Year 1 under head coach Gerry Glasco in 2025. Texas Tech made it to the Women's College World Series for the first time and was one win away from a national championship with Canady commanding the circle.
This year, she's had some help, making Tech just as dangerous in the upcoming postseason.
The Red Raiders rank inside the top five across all major national publications, and the end of the 2026 regular season was among the biggest highlights of the season.
Canady threw her first-career perfect game on senior day this past Saturday at Tracy Sellers Field, where the veterans were honored before the first pitch of the regular-season finale. Canady started her final home regular-season game in the circle, and she capped her stellar career with the one milestone she had yet to accomplish.
"It's definitely up there," Canady said about where the perfect game stacks up among her many accomplishments. "I feel like, just getting it on senior night, too, was really special. My family was in town ... Just being able to do that with my family here means a lot."
Texas Tech beat Baylor 8-0 in five innings to capture the series victory last week. Glasco improved to a perfect 67-0 for his career in conference series, and with the win, Texas Tech improved to 50-5 on the season, becoming the first team in the country to reach the half-century mark in 2026.
The Red Raiders moved to 21-3 in league play, setting a new program record for conference wins in a season. The Big 12 tournament begins later this week in Oklahoma City.
For now, Texas Tech still has bigger goals in front of it, and Canady remains central to all of them.
But Monday's draft offers a glimpse at what’s next for the generational talent.
Canady's college dominance has officially turned into a professional opportunity, and there's no surprise to see that she's one of the first prospects taken in this year's AUSL draft.
