Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady will reportedly transfer. Could she join OU softball?
Stanford ace NiJaree Canady, perhaps the biggest star in college softball, is reportedly planning to hit the transfer portal.
It would come just when OU has an obvious need for a front-line starting pitcher.
Canady’s decision was reported Saturday by a pair of Kansas TV stations, with Topeka's KSNT citing an unnamed family member of the Cardinal pitcher. Monday is the final day softball players can enter the NCAA transfer portal.
Canady, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, went 24-7 with a 0.73 ERA and 337 strikeouts with just 44 walks in 230 ⅔ innings in the 2024 season.
After two seasons at Stanford, Canady is 41-10 with a 0.66 ERA and 555 strikeouts with 65 walks in 366 ⅔ innings pitched.
More: OU softball transfer tracker 2024: Latest portal news, roster updates for Sooners
BREAKING:
A source in the Canady family tells me that National Pitcher of the Year NiJa Canady has entered the transfer portal
Canady finished with a 0.73 ERA and 337 strikeouts with Stanford en route to a national semifinal finishhttps://t.co/GOSICAvGXN— Landon Reinhardt (@landonian87) June 16, 2024
A Canady-to-OU connection could make sense.
The Sooners will be without a proven ace as Kelly Maxwell’s eligibility is up after going 23-2 with a 1.94 ERA and helping the Sooners to a fourth consecutive Women’s College World Series title.
OU also loses Nicole May to graduation and SJ Geurin to the transfer portal.
The Sooners’ most experienced returner is junior-to-be Kierston Deal, who went 14-1 with a 1.97 ERA in 78 ⅓ innings in 2024.
More: Celebrate OU softball winning NCAA-record fourth straight WCWS title with our new book
Canady hails from Topeka, Kansas, and a move from California to Oklahoma would make it much easier for Canady’s family to see her play, especially with the Cardinal joining the coast-to-coast ACC next season.
Canady is plenty familiar with the Sooners, having faced them twice in the 2023 WCWS.
At The Oklahoman’s OKC Metro High School Sports Awards show Friday night, now-former OU players Kinzie Hansen and Jayda Coleman called Canady the toughest pitcher they’d ever faced.
The Cardinal returned to the WCWS this season and Canady pitched all 26 innings Stanford played in the WCWS, allowing just five earned runs.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady will reportedly enter transfer portal
