The Big 12 conference has had a number of great teams in recent years, the following of which have made the NCAA Women's College World Series: Missouri (2009), Texas A&M (2008, 2007), Baylor (2007), Texas (2006, 2005, 2003), and Oklahoma (2003). However, the team at the top of the 2010 conference standings, thus far, is none of the above. In first place, with a 7-0 record, is Oklahoma State (schedule). The Cowgirls have swept two-game series from Baylor, Mizzou, and Iowa State, and taken one from Oklahoma (OSU and OU are splitting their games this year between Stillwater, played on April 7, and Norman, April 28). Further, Oklahoma State has entered the Top 10 in the national polls after a 12-year absence. Rounding out the recent good news for the Cowgirls, senior right-fielder Megan Castle was just named Big 12 offensive Player of the Week.
NiJaree Canady, whose sub-1.00 ERA helped lead Stanford to the Women's College World Series in both her years with the Cardinal, announced on July 24 that she is transferring to Texas Tech. I've lived in Lubbock for 27 years and can say that the town has been improving with a greater selection of restaurants and shops, and a new downtown performing arts center. Likewise, nice new facilities have been dotting the Texas Tech campus . Still, it seems unlikely that Canady would have become a Red Raider without the $1 million annual Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal for her, made possible by the donation of a Texas Tech alumni couple. So stunning an event is this, even in the ever-changing world of collegiate athletics, that the New York Times even ran a behind-the-scenes story on Canady's path to Texas Tech. I look forward to being in the stands to watch Canady pitch next spring, an opportunity I never expected to have.