It’s an all-Texas championship as the Red Raiders meet the Longhorns in Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series finals tonight.
No. 6 Texas beat No. 7 Tennessee on its way to the top of the bracket, while No. 12 Texas Tech knocked off No. 2 Oklahoma – the team that beat UT in the championship last year and in 2022.
This is Tech’s first-ever appearance in the Women’s College World Series, let alone the championship, behind the million-dollar arm of Stanford transfer NiJaree Canady. The New York Times says that if Texas Tech has proved anything, it’s that you can buy a championship.
Red Raiders fans say not so fast – and Longhorns fans, too, considering there’s still games to be played before that’s decided.
Bishop Van Buren, a reporter for Texas Tech Public Media, has been following the buildup to the championship and joined the Standard with more on what to expect.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: I’ve got to address the elephant in the room here: The Times was referring to the recruiting Tech has done for its softball team– a new coach, several new players that came with him, but primarily, NiJaree Canady.
We talked about her on the show last week – recruited from Stanford, and paid over $1 million for this season. Has she been a game changer?
Bishop Van Buren: Oh, most definitely. She has been everything Texas Tech has hoped for and more. Just worth every penny of her million-dollar NIL deal. And I know Texas Tech fans are very excited to see her take the field against UT in a game that means a lot, obviously.
Well, having an ace pitcher is a big deal, but this is a team sport. Can you talk about all of Tech’s efforts to make it not only to the World Series, but to the championship game?
Yeah, with the addition of new head coach Gerry Glasco, he has really brought about not only a bunch of new players, considering there are 14 new players on Tech’s roster this year, but really a new mindset.
He has allowed his players to play the game that they’re most comfortable with. That includes letting NiJaree Canady hit in addition to pitching this year, as well as letting some of the new players– who [are] coming from Louisiana, a bit of a smaller school that followed him – allowing them sort of a longer leash whenever it comes to struggling so far this season in the Big 12.
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All right, I know you’re a Tech fan, but could you talk to me for a minute about the Lady Longhorns? They’ve got some experience in this championship game, and they’ve had another stellar season.
Yeah, definitely. This game is going to be the tale of two teams. On the Texas Tech side, you have Canady, an outstanding pitcher, and a really good defense.
And on the Texas side, you have probably the country’s best offense. I mean, just sluggers down the entire lineup.
They’ve got the second best batting average in college softball. They’ve hit the fourth most RBIs, and they had 90 home runs this season. For reference, Texas Tech only had 60.
I know Texas has a softball fan base – they’ve made it to the championship a few years here, and it’s no surprise they’re in the World Series again. In fact, it’s a surprise when they aren’t.
But what about Tech? Were there softball fans there, and have you seen that base grow this year?
We’ve had our fair share of softball fans, but honestly the program has had its fair share of turnover these past few years.
This is the third coach in three years for the Red Raiders and a Texas Tech team that hasn’t beat Texas since 2021. So the fans are coming around.
They’re definitely growing less apathetic, you could say, especially because this is only the third national championship that a Tech program has ever been to. Most of us over here in Lubbock are just excited to see the scarlet and black on such a big stage.
Now in softball, it’s a lot more common to have a player pitch the whole game or even multiple games in a row. Do you think Tech is gonna stick Canady in the circle tonight?
Yeah, I definitely think so. That’s what they’ve been doing. I think she’s pitched every game the entire month of May. Maybe the first few games she stepped out of the ring at the end of the game. But she really carries that pitching staff sort of on her back.
If Texas Tech has a dominant defensive performance today, it’ll be because of Canady.
So what is your prediction, if you had a crystal ball? Will this take three games? What will this look like?
I do think it’ll take three games, but a lot of my friends that also went to Texas Tech like me aren’t going to like to hear it. I do think that Texas … just their experience on this big stage is really going to help them.
Texas and Texas Tech played before this year. They played back in February, and Texas won both times. The first game that Canady pitched was a close one, so my hopes are up, but my expectations are not quite as high.
