The Oklahoma softball dynasty is over, at least for now. Monday night, June 2, Texas Tech knocked off the Sooners to reach their first championship series. In the process, they ended Oklahoma’s run of four consecutive national titles.
How did Texas Tech knock off the four-time defending champs?
Like all champions, Oklahoma did not go quietly. Down to their final strike in the bottom of the 7th inning, the Sooners’ number nine hitter, Abigale Dayton, hit a two-run homer to tie the game at two. It was the only mistake Texas Tech superstar pitcher NiJaree Canady made all night.
Canady’s teammates didn’t flinch. They bailed her out in the bottom of the inning with a couple of hits and a walk-off sacrifice fly to win it 3-2. Head coach Gerry Glasco’s players had their “David versus Goliath” moment.
“That’s been our motto all year, our chance at forever,” Glasco said. “We can leave a legacy at Texas Tech that will be remembered forever in the minds of the people that are able to watch this ball club. I think that we’ve done that. I think our team has left a legacy that’ll be remembered forever.”
Why is NiJaree Canady in the spotlight?
The Red Raiders leaned on their own giant to get it done. Canady earned National Player of the Year honors at Stanford last season. She made headlines in the summer of 2024 when she transferred to Texas Tech, becoming the first softball player in history to sign a $1 million name, image and likeness deal.
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NiJaree Canady’s historic NIL deal came from The Matador Club, Texas Tech’s NIL collective, which offered a one-year, $1,050,024 contract.
All she’s done this season is post a 33-5 record with an ERA at 0.90. Canady has thrown every pitch for her team in this Women’s College World Series run. Canady was one strike away from holding the Sooners scoreless for the first time in 300 games, a streak that spans 6 years and counting. She was asked how they pulled it off.
“We just played for each other,” Canady said. “Honestly, I feel like a lot of people doubted us and a lot of people didn’t think we would get to this point. So, I think we just didn’t have any pressure on us. We just wanted to go out, play softball and play our game.”
Glasco said Canady’s leadership might be the ingredient that put his team over the top and relayed a conversation he had with her while recruiting the superstar to come to small-town Lubbock, Texas.
“One of the things I kept telling her,” Glasco said. “Hey, if you come to Texas Tech and you take us to the World Series, your market value in advertisements, your shelf life will be seven, eight times more than if you went to a blue blood, like a UCLA, or an Alabama or Tennessee or Oklahoma. If you come here and you take this team to the World Series, there’s no comparison.”
What’s next for Oklahoma?
Coach Glasco also made sure to put his team’s win into perspective. He compared the Sooners to another all-time great program.
“What they’ve done is historic, legendary,” Glasco said. “When I was a kid, we grew up talking about John Wooden and UCLA basketball, and I still think of John Wooden and UCLA when I think of college basketball. That’s what Patty Gasso has done and what Oklahoma’s done, great champions.”
Patty Gasso shed some tears Monday. With 14 newcomers, she very nearly coached the Sooners to their sixth straight championship series. The record run of titles may be done but Gasso, who has eight national championships since 1995, says she has never thought about coaching a dynasty.
“Losing is not fun, but losing is life,” Gasso said. “We all lose at something. It’s hard, but it’s lessons learned from it. And I think that’s probably what’s most important for me.”
The Red Raiders will meet rival Texas in the best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday, June 4, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in a rivalry referred to in college football as “The Battle For The Chancellor’s Spurs.” The Longhorns knocked Tennessee out of the tournament Tuesday, June 3. Both teams are hoping to win their first national title.
contributed to this report.
