Why NiJaree Canady has become an even bigger OU softball priority
The fireworks occurred in the softball transfer portal Monday afternoon, felt by OU and everybody else across the country.
NiJaree Canady, arguably the sport’s biggest star, hit the portal after two brilliant seasons at Stanford. Two incredibly impressive, statement-making seasons. And a National Player of the Year honor as a sophomore.
Now that statement? Let the games begin. Canady has not publicly addressed the portal situation, but she has been active on social media in the ‘follow the follows’ game.
And although last weekend it felt like OU was the clear leader, it will be a battle. Still a battle where it feels like the Sooners are sitting in a good spot. But if you were hoping for ‘enter the portal one day, commit the next’ type of deal, nope.
Now that the portal window is closed, too, we have a much better idea of how intense this Canady recruitment is going to be.
All Monday and Tuesday, kept searching for other big-time names to enter. Didn’t really happen. There have been some good pitchers who have entered and found new homes. But no last-minute ones (yet) to spread the wealth around.
Meaning landing Canady becomes the No. 1 priority for not just OU, but any program that feels like it’s right there in the national championship picture.
The only experienced pitchers for the Sooners are Kierston Deal and Paytn Monticelli. Maybe a freshman can come in and be something, but head coach Patty Gasso knows she needs help.
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Canady is that help, obviously. And, again, you’d still have to love where OU stands. However, here comes every other school that can put together the whole package to get Canady to their campus.
Canady was 24-7 this season with a 0.73 ERA and five saves. She threw a whopping 230.2 innings, allowing 116 hits, 24 earned runs with a ridiculous 337 strikeouts. Included in that were 24 complete games and nine shutouts.
A native of Topeka, Kan., Canady would have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Canady has been the catalyst toward Stanford reaching the Women’s College World Series semifinals in back-to-back seasons.
Who’s leaving? Who’s returning?
We’ve said it repeatedly, but again, 2025 is going to be incredibly different. There are so many names OU fans and softball fans have been accustomed to hearing that are gone.
That senior class went 235-15 with the four national championships.
“This generation, they’ve taught me a lot about coaching,” Gasso said. “They taught me how to accept who they are and how it looks. I mean, I think that has a lot to do with a lot of things, that I just allowed them to be them. It’s hard sometimes because some of it I’m like, oh, no. But it’s important to them. They’ve taught me how to coach better.”
OU lost 10 seniors. Then add another three in the portal (Avery Hodge, Quincee Lilio, SJ Geurin). OU has eight players coming back and is adding eight freshmen. Based on the usual OU numbers, you can assume around five spots are there.
It’s time to have some fun.
