NiJaree Canady and the Red Raiders are back in Lubbock after in the WCWS championship.
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech Red Raiders returned to Lubbock on Friday, and in looking at the crowd of Red Raider Nation that welcomed them back, you might've forgotten that they came up on the losing end of the Women's College World Series.
Fans crowded the entrance of the team's practice facility outside Tracy Sellers Field - which was marked up with 'good lucks' and 'thank you' messages - as the team got off the bus from Oklahoma City.
Head coach Gerry Glasco stood on bed of a pickup truck and addressed the crowd:
"I appreciate you all coming out," he said. "That's a tough one, that last series, to get over, but when we come in and see you guys, it makes it mean so much more...
"Love you all, and we're gonna get it next time!"
All-American pitcher NiJaree Canady was among the few Red Raiders to sign autographs shortly after unloading her bags. She was outside the facility for over half an hour connecting with the Texas Tech supporters as her career comes to an end.
"I've loved my time in Lubbock, and just the Texas Tech community and all the fans and all the support we've gotten," Canady said Thursday after Tech's 4-1 loss to the Texas Longhorns on Thursday.
"I feel like that's something that makes Texas Tech really special."
NiJaree Canady's Impact on Collegiate Softball
Glasco took several minutes of his long-winded opening statement during the postgame press conference to talk about how significant Canady's career has been not just to Texas Tech, but to the sport of softball.
"When I look at this century, the last 26 seasons, you've got the greatness of Monica Abbott, Cat Osterman, and now NiJaree Canady," Glasco said. "I have such great admiration for both Monica and Cat ... and NiJaree - her talent, her leadership - the thing I always most admired about Cat wasn't about how good she was; it was how hard she works, and NiJaree is the exact same.
"She's given so much to this sport. That's gonna be a great legacy that she's impacted our sport in so many ways ... It's heartbreaking to see a great athlete like Nija graduate ... heartbreaking to know their career had to come to an end and we couldn't get that championship."
Over her two seasons at Stanford and Texas Tech, Canady never had a postseason without a trip to the WCWS. Because of that, she set the record for the most appearances in the World Series ever, for any player.
And her accolades are in the rarest of rare air. Canady's college career ends with two NFCA National Pitcher of the Year honors, multiple conference pitcher of the year awards, and three All-American nods. She's struck out over 1,000 batters and holds a career ERA that's just a few ticks above 1.00.
But some might say her greatest achievement comes in the attention she generated for college softball.
This season's WCWS broke numerous viewership records, and Canady's Red Raiders were featured in nearly every high-rated game, even before the championship series against Texas.
But then there's the money. Canady made headlines with her decision to transfer to Texas Tech after a reported $1 million name, image, likeness (NIL) agreement with the program. She became the first collegiate softball player in history to receive seven figures.
The point is less about her decision to pursue a new opportunity and more about how she's blazed a trail for what is possible when women's sports are invested in.
Texas Tech's immense success on the field, the surging growth of softball's national reputation, and a rejuvenated spirit around the Red Raiders' program in Lubbock are enough proof that that's money well spent.
"I don't think someone's whole career is defined by a national championship, of course," Canady said on Thursday. "I don't think that's the goal. I don't think not winning that game diminishes everything else."
Glasco reiterated the point by emphasizing how his two-year tenure in Lubbock has been an overwhelming success, even without a national title.
"I think that anyone that understands our sport knows that you can't buy a championship, and I think our investors are beyond thrilled with where we're at," Glasco said. "The families and the businesses that are supporting us, they couldn't imagine what we did happening 24 months ago. Only if you're naive and don't understand the difficulty of this sport could you think this was disappointing."
"Although, to get [to the WCWS] twice, you hate to lose that opportunity," Glasco added. "You understand how rare these opportunities are, and you want to take advantage. You wanted to get that ring. You wanted to get it done. So I'm not making light of it. I'm not happy with it. But I can tell you the recognition that we brought to Texas Tech University, the recognition these young women have brought to our sport, and the legacy that these two teams are going to leave is going to be there.
"It's a big thing."
'The Face Of Softball'
"I think Nija has become the face of softball," Glasco said. "Not just college softball, but softball."
The coach added how fans have traveled from states away to come watch Canady play. Just on Friday, there were kids of all ages, boys and girls, who were in awe. Too many No. 24 Texas Tech jerseys to count.
"They love Nija Canady. ... It's amazing what she's done," Glasco said. "It's not just because she's a great softball player, it's because she has an amazing heart, an amazing concern for others, that you see everything she does an interview, or does a public appearance, or when she's signing autographs. Her legacy is enormous, and there's greatness all around her ... Greatness, greatness, greatness.
"An opportunity to have been around her, the privilege to have been around her for two years - I don't know how to describe it."
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Canady now turns her attention to her AUSL career with the Texas Volts, the team that drafted her No. 2 overall last month. It's a quick turnaround back to Oklahoma for Canady, with the Volts' first game scheduled for June 9 against the OKC Spark at Tom Heath Field.
From there, Canady will be involved with the USA Softball national team in the early stages of fielding a roster to compete in the 2028 Olympic Games. The Games' softball competition is also hosted at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Canady hopes that the momentum around softball can continue on the trajectory that her phenomenal career helped aim.
"It also set a new standard for just female athletics, too," Canady said of her NIL compensation. "Like we'll invest in female athletics. We'll draw crowds. I don't know how many viewership numbers have been up, like fan numbers have been up. I think we just helped pave the pathway to hopefully more investments coming."
"For a female athlete, and for an African American female athlete," Glasco said, "I think her legacy is way beyond the softball field when people see what it does for the female athlete and African American female athletes in the coming years."
