#24, Right-Handed Pitcher, R/R

NiJaree Canady

Texas Tech University '26

Hometown: Topeka, Kansas

NiJaree Canady is a 6-foot professional softball pitcher from Topeka, Kansas. She was selected No. 2 overall in the 2026 AUSL College Draft by the Texas Volts following a collegiate career at Stanford and Texas Tech.

Personal Life

Family: Daughter of Bruce and Katherine Canady. Her brother, Bruce, plays football at California. She lists her father as a person who has made a difference in her life because he was her first coach.

Background: Two-time Kansas Gatorade Softball Player of the Year selection. She wears No. 24 because it has been worn by members of her family. One of her softball idols is Lisa Fernandez.

Hobbies: Enjoys going for walks, finding new coffee shops, reading, and spending time with her dog. Her most prized possession is her Bible. Her proudest accomplishment is graduating from college while playing softball.

Professional & International Experience

Texas Volts (2026)

2026 AUSL Regular Season: Selected No. 2 overall in the 2026 AUSL College Draft by the Texas Volts.

Team USA (2023–2026)

2026 Athlete Pool: Member of the 2026 United States Women’s National Team Athlete Pool.

Japan All-Star Series (2023–2024): Competed for Team USA during the 2023 and 2024 Japan All-Star Series.

College Experience: Stanford (2023–2024) & Texas Tech (2025–2026)

Canady was an exceptional two-way player who guided Stanford to the NCAA Women’s College World Series as an underclassman before transferring and leading Texas Tech to back-to-back WCWS runner-up finishes. She earned WCWS All-Tournament Team honors all four years.

Career Totals: Compiled a 104-24 record with 13 saves, a 1.09 ERA, and 1,127 strikeouts over 796.0 innings (including 71 complete games and 31 shutouts). Offensively, she tallied a .234 batting average with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs.

Texas Tech (2025–2026): Authored a 63-14 record and a 1.45 ERA with 572 strikeouts over two seasons. She tied the program's single-season wins record (34) and led the team with 14 home runs as a junior. As a senior, she threw multiple no-hitters—including a perfect game—and hit her first career grand slam.

Stanford (2023–2024): Posted a 41-10 record with 555 strikeouts, remarkably leading NCAA Division I in ERA during both her freshman (0.57) and sophomore seasons. She paced the nation with 337 strikeouts as a sophomore and threw two no-hitters as a freshman.

Awards & Honors

All-America: Earned NFCA All-America honors three times, including a pair of First-Team citations as a sophomore and junior. Two-time First-Team All-America choice by Softball America and D1Softball.

National Honors: Named to Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Athletes list in 2026. Two-time Honda Sport Award for Softball recipient and two-time NFCA National Pitcher of the Year (sophomore and junior). Top-10 Finalist for the 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award and Top-3 Finalist in 2025. Consensus selection as the 2023 National Freshman of the Year by the NFCA, D1Softball, and Softball America.

Region & Conference Honors: Secured three NFCA All-Region First Team certificates. Three-time Conference Pitcher of the Year honoree, including back-to-back Big 12 citations as a junior and senior.

Academic Honors: Outstanding student who earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team Member of the Year as a junior and senior.

YEAR	W-L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	SO	LOB	BB	R	ER	HR	B/AVG	HB	CG	SHO	SV	B	S	WP
2026 Volts	1-6	4.67	10	8	36.0	42	18	-	24	28	24	8	.302	5	1	1	-	253	425	1
Career Totals	1-6	4.67	10	8	36.0	42	18	-	24	28	24	8	.302	5	1	1	-	253	425	1

*The AUSL All-Star Cup was known as the Championship season through 2024.

DATE	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	W-L	ERA	G	IP	H	SO	LOB	BB	R	ER	HR	B/AVG	HB	CG	SHO	SV	B	S	WP
7/18/2026	Cascade	Volts	0-1	21.00	1	1.2	3	-	-	3	5	5	1	.429	-	-	-	-	19	21	-
7/14/2026	Volts	Spark	0-1	2.33	1	3.0	2	3	-	4	3	1	-	.182	1	-	-	-	32	38	-
7/10/2026	Volts	Blaze	1-0	0.00	1	8.0	5	6	-	4	-	-	-	.192	1	1	1	-	50	81	-
7/6/2026	Bandits	Volts	0-0	0.00	1	0.2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	.500	-	-	-	-	3	5	1
7/5/2026	Bandits	Volts	0-1	1.31	1	5.1	4	1	-	2	2	1	-	.222	-	-	-	-	31	51	-
6/30/2026	Talons	Volts	0-1	7.88	1	2.2	4	2	-	1	3	3	1	.364	-	-	-	-	16	35	-
6/27/2026	Volts	Cascade	0-1	8.40	1	3.1	5	1	-	4	4	4	-	.333	1	-	-	-	25	56	-
6/23/2026	Volts	Bandits	0-0	3.50	1	4.0	5	3	-	3	2	2	1	.313	1	-	-	-	27	43	-
6/19/2026	Volts	Talons	0-1	4.20	1	5.0	7	1	-	2	3	3	2	.368	-	-	-	-	29	59	-
6/14/2026	Blaze	Volts	0-0	15.00	1	2.1	6	-	-	1	6	5	3	.429	1	-	-	-	21	36	-

*The AUSL All-Star Cup was known as the Championship season through 2024.

Highlights

Montana Fouts shuts out Japan; USA wins gold in the 2026 International Cup

The U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT) bested their long-time foe in the 2026 USA Softball International Cup, defeating No. 1 Japan 2-0 in the championship game to earn gold. Utah Talons pitcher Montana Fouts was near-perfect in the circle, throwing a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts. She didn’t allow a baserunner until the seventh inning […]

Montana Fouts pitching windup in the 2026 International Cup with the U.S. Women's National Team

6/12/2026Volts
Volts signed NiJaree Canady as an amateur draft signing
5/4/2026Volts
Volts drafted NiJaree Canady in the college draft: [Round 1, Pick 2 (2)]

DATE	TEAM	TRANSACTION
6/12/2026	Volts	Volts signed NiJaree Canady as an amateur draft signing
5/4/2026	Volts	Volts drafted NiJaree Canady in the college draft: [Round 1, Pick 2 (2)]