The Judi Garman Classic at Cal State Fullerton has gotten started with a couple of games today. The main action begins Thursday, however. The marquee match-up Thursday pits No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 4 Michigan, with a listed starting time of 11:15 AM Pacific. No. 1 Washington is also in the field, but has no game scheduled against Michigan (teams in the same conference, as are Washington and Arizona, generally do not play in mid-season tournaments, saving their contests for league play). Other Top Ten teams participating include Oklahoma and Arizona State (depending on which poll one looks at).
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.