Today begins the first full weekend of conference play in the Big 12 conference. Within the past week, Baylor took two games from Texas, and Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State in a single game. This weekend features three-game series between Baylor and Iowa State; Kansas and Oklahoma; and OSU and Texas Tech. Seven schools in the conference play softball, so Texas is the odd team out this weekend, playing a two-game nonconference series with BYU. The Big 12 appears to be a bit down this year, as only two schools are currently in the nation's Top 25, Oklahoma (No. 13/14) and Baylor (No. 19/19).
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.