The All-American pitcher teamed up with pop culture star Antonio Cipriano in a 3-on-3 competition at MLB All-Star Weekend.
NiJaree Canady has kept herself busy after finishing her collegiate softball career at Texas Tech earlier this spring.
The All-American pitcher found time in between her new professional duties with the Texas Volts to make an appearance at MLB's inaugural MLBx 3-on-3 competition at All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia.
Canady teamed up with Antonio Cipriano, who stars in the hit TV show "Off Campus," where teams took turns batting and playing in the field in three-inning single-elimination games. Former Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones completed the trio.
Ultimately, the winning team was led by Rachel Garcia, a fellow Volts pitcher in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League that took home MVP honors in Philly.
Canady brought unprecedented eyeballs on softball in Lubbock and across the sport in general during her remarkable four-year career that included her playing in the Women's College World Series each year.
She could feel the exposure working in full affect during All-Star Weekend.
"I think there’s so many just baseball and softball fans here in general this weekend, and just people to be here at All-Star Weekend and represent AUSL as well, it’s incredible," Canady told the AUSL.
"I feel like softball’s been growing a lot so rapidly, and if we can invite more people here and get more people to watch softball, that’s always beautiful."
Social media was obviously obsessed with the star-power duo of Canady and Cipriano
On the diamond, Canady's Volts are sitting at the bottom of the league with a 6-17 record.
The Topeka, Kansas native dramatically earned her first professional win on July 10.
She pitched a complete-game shutout with six strikeouts in a 1-0 win over the Carolina Blaze, who passed on Canady with the No. 1 pick in last year's AUSL Draft.
"I think we're just playing for each other," Canady said afterward. "We want to get out there and compete for each other. I feel like the defense made some amazing plays, then of course the hit at the end to walk it off was amazing."
The victory was one of two walk-off wins for the Volts in as many games. On July 11, Canady's former Texas Tech teammate, Jackie Lis, drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Blaze.
Lis is one of three Volts players to appear in at least 20 games this summer. She is hitting .273 with two home runs and eight runs batted in. As she did in her one season at Texas Tech in 2026, Lis leads the Volts in walks with 10 on the year.
The Volts have just two games remaining on their 2026 schedule: a road matchup with the Portland Cascade on July 17 and 18.
