Is NiJaree Canady the Caitlin Clark of softball? What to know about Stanford star pitcher
It did not take long for NiJaree Canady to make herself comfortable on the biggest stage for college softball.
Following a strong freshman season for Stanford softball, Canady made noise at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, when she struck out OU star Tiare Jennings in consecutive at-bats. Canady, who plays with a lot of emotion and likes to celebrate in the circle, then led the Cardinal to a shutout victory over Alabama.
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She had already proven she had arrived as a star at the college level despite being a freshman. Canady has built on that going into her sophomore season, posting a dominant 20-5 record, 0.73 ERA, 298 strikeouts, 33 walks, 18 complete games and six shutouts in 191 2/3 innings pitched, leading Stanford (47-15, 17-7 Pac 12) to a No. 8 seed and a chance to return to OKC.
Canady has even earned high praise from former Tennessee star hurler Monica Abbott, who called her the 'Caitlin Clark of softball.' Here's everything to know about Canady, who has been one of the best college softball pitchers the past two seasons:
Is NiJaree Canady the Caitlin Clark of softball?
Canady won Pac-12 Player of the Year honors this season after her dominant performance with the numbers posted above. After posting a 0.59 ERA in her freshman season, Canady's career ERA sits at 0.68 over 309 ⅔ innings. She has struck out more than a hitter an inning with 507 career Ks to just 54 walks.
Abbot holds the record for the fastest softball pitch at 77 miles per hour. Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens was clocked at throwing 76 mph last year at the WCWS, the second-fastest-ever pitch. Canady was not far behind at 75 mph. Abbott, who was a four-time All-American at Tennessee from 2004-07 and is the NCAA career strikeout leader, believes Canady can break it and heaped even more praise on Canady.
"NiJa is already throwing as fast as I was as a pro,” Abbott said in an interview with The Athletic. “Her limit does not exist. I think she could potentially reach 80 (mph).
“I don’t know — can NiJa be the Caitlin Clark of softball? I kind of believe she can.”
Where is NiJaree Canady from?
Canady hails from Topeka, Kansas, where she attended Topeka High School. In addition to being a standout on the softball diamond, Canady was also a four-star basketball recruit. In her senior season, she decided to go with softball and was ranked as the No. 11 recruit in the 2022 recruiting class per the site Extra Innings Softball.
As a junior, Canady posted a 21-0 record with a 0.26 ERA and 232 strikeouts in 107 ⅔ innings, while also hitting .478 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI. She led Topeka to a state championship and earned Kansas Softball Gatorade Player of the Year honors. On Oct. 12, 2021, she committed to Stanford and announced she would not play basketball her senior year.
She had averaged 20.6 points per game and 12.3 rebounds per game, leading her team to a runner-up finish during her junior season of basketball.
Focusing solely on softball, Canady went 13–1 in her senior season with a 0.84 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 74 ⅔ innings while hitting .530 with seven home runs, 37 runs scored, and 42 RBI. She led the Trojans to a second straight state championship and was once again named the Kansas Softball Gatorade Player of the Year.
NiJaree Canady stats
Here are NiJaree Canady's regular season stats through two seasons at Stanford:
2024: 20-5 record, 0.73 ERA, 298 strikeouts, 33 walks, 18 complete games, six shutouts in 191 ⅔ innings pitched.
2023: 13-3 record, 0.59 ERA, 209 strikeouts, 21 walks, nine complete games, seven shutouts in 118 innings pitched.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Is NiJaree Canady the Caitlin Clark of softball? Who is the Stanford star?
