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
Hobbies: Enjoys going for walks, finding new coffee shops, reading and spending time with her dog.
Background: Lists Lisa Fernandez as one of her softball idols and her most prized possession is her Bible. Wears No. 24 because it has been worn by members of her family. Her proudest accomplishment is graduating from college while playing softball. Two-time Kansas Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.
Education: Graduated from college while playing softball.
Family: Daughter of Bruce and Katherine Canady. Her father was her first coach, and her brother, Bruce, plays football at California.
Professional & International Experience
Athletes Unlimited Softball League (2026–)
2026 AUSL Regular Season (Texas Volts): Canady appeared in 10 games with eight starts during her rookie season, compiling a 1-6 record with a 4.67 earned run average. She tallied 18 strikeouts over 36.0 innings. Canady earned her first professional win against Carolina on July 10, fashioning a season-high six strikeouts while scattering five hits over 8.0 scoreless innings in a complete-game victory. On July 6, at Chicago, she did not allow a run in 0.2 innings, and on June 23, also against Chicago, she logged three strikeouts over 4.0 innings. She also notched three strikeouts on July 14 against Oklahoma City.
International Experience (2023–)
Team USA: Canady is a member of the 2026 United States Women's National Team Athlete Pool. She guided the U.S. Elite Team to a bronze medal at the International Cup, posting a 1-0 record with four strikeouts over 6.1 innings, including a win over American Samoa in which she scattered two hits over 3.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. She also 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.
