Texas Tech was once the darling, arriving in Oklahoma City in 2025 as the sport’s sunrise story, a rebuilt Big 12 program powered by NiJaree Canady’s million-dollar arm and a run that ended one win short of a national title. It was new, electric and easy to root for.
How, in a year, have the Red Raiders become some sort of villains? After losing to Texas last year, Texas Tech went shopping. Backed by big bucks, it added one of the most loaded transfer groups in the country, bringing in All-Americans Taylor Pannell and Mia Williams, UCLA transfer Kaitlyn Terry, Ohio State catcher Jasmyn Burns and Southern Illinois infielder Jackie Lis. It all made the team that had been celebrated as a fresh face into one of the sport’s most polarizing programs.
“If softball needs me to be the villain, I’m all about it,” head coach Gerry Glasco said. “Let’s go. It’s fun.”
Glasco also said Tech is doing something “maybe never done before or at least not been done in a similar fashion. It’s confusing. But for us on the field, it’s just every day. We just work every day. We work really hard. I’m enjoying every moment.”
The Red Raiders are trying to prove that their model can work, that last year was not a one-hit wonder and that a program can move from afterthought to national power without apologizing for how fast it happened.
Our Lindsay Schnell has more, much more, on this, in one of my favorite college softball stories.
