Heading into this past weekend's play, UCLA and Florida essentially were co-No. 1 teams in the nation. UCLA held the No. 1 position, with Florida No. 2, in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. However, in the USA Today/NFCA poll, it was Florida No. 1 and UCLA No. 2. This past weekend's play likely will give the Bruins a nudge to the No. 1 spot in both polls. UCLA took two of three from Washington in Seattle, improving to 5-1 in the Pac 12 (28-2 overall). Florida, meanwhile, dropped two of three to Alabama on the Gators' home diamond in Gainesville.
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.