'She's a folk hero in our sport': How NiJaree Canady became college softball's first million-dollar player

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Last July, pitcher NiJaree Canady shook assemblage sports erstwhile she announced her transfer to Texas Tech and landed the richest softball NIL woody ever.

The reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year bolted from the hallowed halls of Stanford, wherever she had go a superstar aft piloting the Cardinal to 2 consecutive Women's College World Series appearances, finishing successful the last 4 teams some times. Her caller location would beryllium connected the arid plains of West Texas astatine a schoolhouse that had ne'er won a league rubric and had won conscionable 49% of its games -- and 31% of its league games since the advent of the Big 12.

The transportation was met with awe: The Matador Club, Texas Tech's NIL collective, made a historical play for Canady, offering a one-year, $1,050,024 declaration (a cardinal for Canady, $50k for surviving expenses, $24 for her jersey number).

Just much than a period aft Red Raiders manager Gerry Glasco -- who was hired from Louisiana connected June 20, 3 days aft Canady had entered the portal and started lining up visits -- arrived successful Lubbock, helium landed the astir invaluable subordinate successful the country. He did it by pulling retired each the stops, including recruiting calls from backmost Patrick Mahomes to Canady, a Kansan who is simply a devoted Kansas City Chiefs fan.

Glasco, who didn't person overmuch successful the mode of NIL successful Lafayette, had abruptly walked into what helium believed was the champion softball concern successful America. Two of the Matador Club's biggest boosters -- Tracy Sellers, a erstwhile Tech softball player, and her husband, John, an lipid and state enforcement and erstwhile Red Raiders shot subordinate nether Mike Leach -- had been supporting softball for years. They donated $11 cardinal to the diversion section successful 2022, with $1 cardinal designated for softball stadium upgrades.

Glasco said helium was told Canady's cause was initially seeking $400,000, which helium thought was debased for her to permission Stanford, wherever she was already a budding legend.

"My connection was: We're talking astir Bo Jackson. We're talking astir Herschel Walker," Glasco told the Sellers. "We're talking astir a once-in-a-generation subordinate that's already made a sanction each implicit America. She's a people leader successful our athletics and she's a sophomore."

Tracy thought it was worthy making a connection astatine Texas Tech, a spot wherever Sheryl Swoopes became a superstar and wherever the road extracurricular Rocky Johnson Field is named for erstwhile Red Raiders women's hoops manager Marsha Sharp. After gathering with the prima pitcher, Sellers decided if anyone was worthy of specified an emphatic connection astir investing successful women's sports, it was Canady.

"She is simply a fantastic quality being," Sellers said. "We look astatine it arsenic they merit it conscionable arsenic overmuch [as antheral athletes]. She worked truthful hard to beryllium the No. 1 pitcher successful the country. ... I near that gathering and thought, this is who I would emotion to enactment a batch of effort into due to the fact that of who she is."

Canady knew the spotlight would travel with the news, but she hopes it opens the doorway for those who travel her to reap the benefits.

"There are a batch of antheral athletes who get that and it's not a header anymore," Canady said. "I anticipation that happens for women's sports, too. I consciousness similar it tin beryllium a unit if you fto it be, but honestly, I deliberation it's conscionable a privilege. I anticipation idiosyncratic time comes successful and builds it adjacent more."

Looking backmost astatine the Sellers' donation for the softball facilities, the aforesaid size concern successful Canady had a greater transformative impact.

This year, the Red Raiders won their archetypal Big 12 regular-season and league titles portion Canady led the federation with a 0.81 ERA. She went 26-5, racking up the second-most wins successful a play successful schoolhouse history. She was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. On Friday astatine 5:30 p.m. ET, No. 12 effect Texas Tech (45-12), hosting its archetypal Lubbock Regional, will play Brown (33-15).

"She decidedly enactment Texas Tech softball connected the map," Tracy said.

CANADY WANTS TO make 1 happening clear: There's much to the communicative than conscionable a elephantine deposit.

"I consciousness similar radical thought I heard the fig and conscionable came to Texas Tech, which wasn't the lawsuit astatine all," she said she considered Tech's connection for much than a period earlier she committed. "If I didn't consciousness similar Coach Glasco was an astonishing manager and could pb this programme to beryllium wherever we thought it could be, I wouldn't person come."

Glasco, 66, is simply a wildly palmy precocious bloomer successful the softball satellite who won 5 league titles with six trips to the NCAA regionals successful six seasons astatine Louisiana. He wasn't hired until Canady had already entered the portal, truthful helium had to marque up crushed quickly, due to the fact that helium wasn't precisely successful the sweepstakes successful Lafayette. But helium had a concealed weapon: Glasco was friends with Jim Huecker, a erstwhile question shot manager and Canady's longtime coach. And helium knew what Huecker knew: Canady missed hitting arsenic overmuch arsenic she loved pitching.

Canady grew up successful Topeka, Kansas, arsenic a multisport star, including playing hoops and tackle shot against boys. On her girls' hoops squad successful precocious school, Canady averaged 20.6 points and 12.3 rebounds during her inferior year, starring Topeka High to the Kansas 6A authorities finals portion besides being the two-time Kansas Softball Gatorade Player of the Year and starring the squad to its archetypal 2 authorities titles. She dominated successful the circle, obviously, but besides deed .478 with 13 homers arsenic a inferior and .530 with 42 RBIs arsenic a senior. After hitting conscionable 35 times successful 2 seasons astatine Stanford, Canady wanted to get backmost to being an all-around athlete.

And Glasco, who directed record-setting offenses arsenic an adjunct astatine Georgia and Texas A&M, amazed Canady by making hitting a centerpiece of his presentation, which comprised a stack of handwritten stat sheets and charts.

"That's my lineup," Glasco said, holding up the aforesaid poster helium utilized to transportation Canady. "If you look, I've got 'em each and I'm promising her however galore runs I'm going to score. The coaches wanted to enactment it successful Excel, marque it nice, but I said, 'No, no, no. I privation it due to the fact that NiJa has to spot me. If it's successful my handwriting, this is amended than connected a machine due to the fact that it has to beryllium personal.' I judge that was important."

On astir visits, Canady spent the bulk of her clip with pitching coaches. But successful Lubbock, Canady was truthful funny that she spent much clip connected her sojourn gathering with Glasco than she did with Tara Archibald, Glasco's girl who serves arsenic subordinate caput manager and pitching coach.

"I deliberation I talked to Coach Tara possibly 20-30 minutes astir pitching and past the remainder of the clip was conscionable Coach Glasco talking astir hitting," Canady said. "Afterward, I had to spell backmost and speech to Coach Tara a small much conscionable due to the fact that Coach Glasco and I spent truthful overmuch clip conscionable talking astir hitting, going done antithetic swings, watching videos. And that was decidedly antithetic conscionable due to the fact that different schools were evidently much focused connected my pitching."

When Archibald near her caput coaching occupation astatine Eastern Illinois, wherever she went 40-17 past season, to articulation her father's unit July 3, she couldn't person imagined landing Canady. But first, she had to hold connected her dad, who tin rotation a fewer yarns.

Glasco coached his 3 daughters: Tara, Erin and the precocious Geri Ann, a erstwhile Gatorade National Player of the Year who died successful a 2019 car mishap erstwhile she was a unpaid manager for him astatine Louisiana.

"This is wherefore I deliberation I could place with her," Glasco said. "All 3 of my daughters pitched and played and hit. And erstwhile you're an athlete, the 1 happening you don't privation to beryllium is simply a pitcher only. In our sport, the pitcher is truthful important, truthful we bounds them. And I deliberation that's what she felt similar successful her assemblage career. ... She wants the opportunity."

Despite dealing with a soft-tissue wounded successful March and being limited, Canady has 81 at-bats this year, batting .309 with 5 doubles and 8 homers. She leads the squad with a .457 on-base percentage, acknowledgment to her 13 walks and being deed by a transportation 10 times. Still, she takes convulsive cuts, looking to nonstop the shot into orbit immoderate accidental she gets.

"I'm decidedly trying to deed the shot out," Canady said. "And that's Coach Glasco's motto, too. He loves the agelong ball."

CANADY SAID THERE wasn't overmuch civilization daze going from Palo Alto to Lubbock. She is from Topeka, aft all.

"Lubbock reminds maine much of home," she said.

The large difference, she said, has been the ambiance successful Lubbock. Located 5 hours from Dallas and six from Austin, it's its ain outpost successful West Texas. The Red Raiders are a devoted bunch.

"I deliberation that was the biggest daze to me, conscionable astir however overmuch sports substance present successful Texas," she said. "I retrieve my archetypal shot crippled present and conscionable seeing however galore radical were here, that was decidedly different."

That legendary limb has proved utile astatine Tech shot games, wherever she has admitted to sneaking successful tortillas and winging them down toward the field, a tradition successful Lubbock.

"There's a full subject down getting it far," she said. "You person to enactment a spread successful the center. There's a definite mode to propulsion it."

And it didn't wounded that different Red Raider with a legendary limb has go a large instrumentality and made his ain recruiting pitch. Canady, a immense Chiefs fan, was shocked erstwhile Mahomes interrupted his abrogation successful Italy to telephone her connected her visit.

"I'm not going to accidental immoderate names, but different programme had a precise important idiosyncratic telephone maine and determination was nary caller ID, truthful I couldn't telephone him backmost oregon anything," Canady said. "But Patrick Mahomes, I person his number, I tin scope retired to him. So I deliberation that's cool. Last July, we were eating luncheon and had a beauteous presumption of the full shot stadium. Someone told me, conscionable nonstop a representation to Patrick to spot if helium responds. He's preparing for the play and past I deliberation wrong 10 minutes helium got backmost to me."

Canady has that benignant of prima power, and she'll undoubtedly gully much players who privation to play alongside her adjacent year, with much clip for Glasco to enactment alternatively of the quick-assembly task helium enactment unneurotic past season. Glasco thinks this year's Red Raiders squad tin instrumentality anyone to the ligament due to the fact that of Canady, but is assured helium tin contend for a nationalist title adjacent year, if not this year.

"I've ne'er coached anybody adjacent to her," helium said. "I've ne'er coached this benignant of pitcher successful college. It has a immense effect. It makes up for a batch of atrocious coaching mistakes, I'll archer you that."

The concern impacted each parties involved. She says it was hard to permission Stanford, her teammates and coaches behind, and yes, that Stanford degree. But Canady's imagination is to manager kids and unfastened her ain installation -- oregon facilities -- and her household feels the wealth volition assistance her get determination quickly.

"She wants to thatch small girls to hit," Glasco said. "She loves small kids. You tin spot it erstwhile she signs autographs."

And it doesn't wounded to person the Sellers successful her corner.

"Why would you not privation radical you emotion to succeed? And truthful aforesaid with NiJa. I would spell into concern immoderate time with her," Tracy said. "She's a personage successful Lubbock, Texas. It's not conscionable astir money. I truly anticipation that communicative gets retired astir her."