NiJaree Canady | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: 2003or2004(age 20–21) [1] Topeka, Kansas, U.S. | |
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
NiJaree Canady (born 2003 or 2004) is an American college softball pitcher who most recently played for the Stanford Cardinal. As a freshman in 2023,she was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore in 2024,she was named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
Canady attended Topeka High School in Topeka,Kansas where she was a two-sport athlete,playing both basketball and softball.
In basketball,during her freshman year in 2018,she averaged 20.6 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game and led the Trojans to a 22–3 record. During her sophomore year in 2019,she averaged 18.8 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game and led the Trojans to a 23–0 record,before the postseason was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During her junior year in 2020,she averaged a league-best 20.6 points per game and 12.3 rebounds per game and led the Trojans to a 23–2 record and a second-place finish at the 6A state tournament. She was named first team All-League,first team All-City and first team All-State all three years of playing basketball. [2] [3] [4]
In softball,during her junior year in 2021,she posted a 21–0 record with a 0.26 ERA and 232 Strikeouts in 107+2⁄3 innings. Offensively she hit .478 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI. In the Class 6A state tournament, she struck out 16 batters in each of the three tournament games, and gave up just six hits and no earned run at the tournament, to help the Trojans win their first ever state championship. She was subsequently named the Kansas Softball Gatorade Player of the Year. [5] On October 12, 2021, Canady announced her commitment to Stanford, and would forgo her senior year of basketball to focus on softball. [4] During her senior year in 2022, she posted a 13–1 record with a 0.84 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 74+2⁄3 innings. Offensively she hit .530 with seven home runs, 37 runs scored and 42 RBI. She helped lead the Trojans to a second straight Class 6A state championship. Following the season, she was named Kansas Softball Gatorade Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. [6]
As a freshman during the 2023 season, Canady posted a 17–3 record with four saves in 24 starts and nine relief appearances. Two of her three losses came against 2023 Women's College World Series champion Oklahoma, which lost only one game all year. She led the nation in ERA (0.57) and strikeouts per seven innings (11.3) and ranked third in hits allowed per seven innings (3.32). [7] She recorded 218 strikeouts in 135 innings, allowed only one home run all year, pitched two no-hitters, and pitched ten complete games, eight of which were shutouts. [8] [9] Her first career no-hitter took place on February 12, 2023, against Liberty. [10] She pitched her second no-hitter on March 3 against Villanova, striking out 18 batters, one short of the record of 19 set by Missy Penna in 2009. [11] She became the first Stanford player with multiple no-hitters in a season since Teagan Gerhart had three in 2010. [12] She helped lead Stanford to the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2004. [13] Following the season she was named a first-team all-Pac-12 honoree and All-Pac-12 freshman team selection. She was also named to the inaugural D1Softball All-American Freshman Team and named NFCA National Freshman of the Year, and Softball America Freshman of the Year. [14] [15] [16]
As a sophomore during the 2024 season, Canady posted a 24–7 record with five saves. She led the nation with a 0.73 ERA, and 337 strikeouts, ranked third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.72). She led the Pac-12 in strikeouts per seven innings (10.7) and recorded a career-high 243 strikeouts in 168+2⁄3 innings during the regular season. She also pitched 24 complete games and nine shutouts. She surrendered multiple runs in just three games, in 37 appearances, and recorded 18 double-digit strikeout performances. Her five saves tied for the conference lead. She pitched all 26 innings for Stanford at the 2024 Women's College World Series and allowed just six runs as the Cardinal advanced to the semifinals, before being eliminated by the No. 1 seed Texas. She was subsequently named to the Women's College World Series all-tournament team. [17] [18] Following an outstanding season she was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, Softball America Pitcher of the Year, NFCA National Pitcher of the Year and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] She also won the Honda Sports Award for softball. [24]
On June 17, 2024, Canady entered the NCAA transfer portal. During two seasons at Stanford she posted a 41–10 record with nine saves, a 0.66 ERA and 555 strikeouts with 65 walks in 366+2⁄3 innings. [25] [26]
Alicia Kay Hollowell-Dunn is an American, former collegiate four-time All-American, retired professional softball pitcher and assistant coach. She played college softball at Arizona Wildcats softball from 2003 to 2006, collecting 144 career wins and 1,768 strikeouts, both top-10 NCAA career records. She currently holds the Arizona Wildcats records for career strikeouts, shutouts and innings pitched, in addition to the Pac-12 Conference wins and strikeout ratio records. Hollowell won the 2006 Women's College World Series.
Anjelica Maria Selden is a former collegiate All-American, softball pitcher and coach. She played for UCLA and is the career leader in strikeouts. She also pitched internationally.
Michele Marie Granger is an American, former collegiate four-time NCAA Division I First Team All-American and 1996 gold medal-winning Olympian softball pitcher. She played college softball for four seasons, over five years, for California. She won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics with Team USA. She currently holds numerous pitching records for the Bears, and is the Pac-12 Conference career leader in perfect games, no hitters, shutouts and innings pitched, simultaneously holding the NCAA lead in no-hitters (25), along with several other top-10 career records. She is a USA Softball Hall of Fame inductee.
Danielle Elaine Lawrie is a Canadian, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, professional All-Star softball pitcher and current sports commentator. Lawrie played college softball at Washington, in which she was part of the 2009 Women's College World Series championship team and was named Most Outstanding Player. Lawrie currently plays for the Canada women's national softball team, including during the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal.
Katherine Burkhart is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired professional All-Star softball pitcher and softball coach. She played college softball at Arizona State, and won a national championship with the team in 2008 and was named Most Outstanding Player. Burkhart holds the career records in wins, strikeouts, perfect games, WHIP, innings pitched and strikeout ratio for the school. She also ranks in several career pitching categories and the top-10 for strikeouts and perfect games for both the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA Division I. She has also pitched for the USA Softball team. She also helped remove snakes from a plane that was bound from Hawaii to Phoenix in 2023.
The Stanford Cardinal softball team represents Stanford University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cardinal are currently led by head coach Jessica Allister. The team plays its home games at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium located on the university's campus.
Kelly Katlyn Barnhill is an American professional softball pitcher. She played college softball for the Florida Gators from 2016 to 2019, earning All-American honors during her tenure with the team. She was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Honda Sports Award, and espnW Player of the Year in 2017. She is the career no hitters (7), strikeouts, strikeout ratio (10.5) and WHIP leader for the Gators. She also ranks in career strikeout ratio for both the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA Division I.
Rachel Lauren Garcia is an American former softball pitcher. She most recently served as the pitching coach for UC San Diego. She played college softball for the UCLA Bruins and led the Bruins to the 2019 Women's College World Series championship, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Alex Ryann Storako is an American softball pitcher for the Oklahoma City Spark of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). She played college softball for Michigan and Oklahoma. As a junior in 2021, she set a Michigan program record with 22 strikeouts in a game and was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year.
Giselle "G" Juarez is an American, former collegiate All-American softball pitcher. She played college softball at Oklahoma and Arizona State.
Jayda Coleman is an American college softball player for the Oklahoma Sooners. She also represented the United States at the 2019 U-19 Women's Softball World Cup and USA Softball International Cup. While at Oklahoma she won the Women's College World Series championship four consecutive years.
Megan Ki'llani Faraimo is an American professional softball pitcher. She played college softball at UCLA from 2019 to 2023, where she was named a three-time All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). As a sophomore in 2020, she was named Softball America Pitcher of the Year. Faraimo played in Athletes Unlimited Softball, where she named the 2023 Athletes Unlimited Rookie of the Year.
Aleshia Ocasio is a professional American softball player. She played college softball at Florida. Ocasio most recently played in the Athletes Unlimited Softball, where she won the 2021 championship as the top individual points leader. She has been a member of the Puerto Rico women's national softball team since 2015.
Jordyn Bahl is an American college softball pitcher for Nebraska. As a freshman at Oklahoma in 2022, she was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year.
Georgina Louise Corrick is a British born, American raised professional softball player for Athletes Unlimited Softball. She played college softball for the South Florida Bulls. She is also a member of the Great Britain women's national softball team. In 2022, she was the first pitching Triple Crown winner in NCAA Division I history. In 2024, she was inducted into the British Softball Hall of Fame.
Danielle Lauren Williams is an American college softball player for the Northwestern Wildcats. As a freshman in 2019, she was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year.
The 2023 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2023. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2023 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA tournament and held annually in Oklahoma City at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, ended in June 2023.
Jocelyn Erickson is an American college softball player for the Florida Gators. She previously played for Oklahoma. She was named the NFCA National Player of the Year in 2024.
Keagan Rothrock is an American college softball pitcher for Florida. As a freshman in 2024, she was named SEC Freshman of the Year.
Kelly Maxwell is an American college softball pitcher for Oklahoma. She previously played for Oklahoma State