Stormin in Norman
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Could Sooners be in mix for top pitcher in college softball as 2025 roster addition?

By Chip Rouse

Stanford's NiJaree Canady (24) celebrates during a Women's College World Series softball game between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Stanford's NiJaree Canady (24) celebrates during a Women's College World Series softball game between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY
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One of the big reasons for Oklahoma's historic four consecutive national championships in softball is an outstanding group of starting pitchers, a group that includes two national players of the year and three Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Players.

The reigning national champions only have one starting pitching returning for next season, though, so you can be sure head coach Patty Gasso will be on the hunt to fill that critical void. The Sooners lose WCWS star Kelly Maxwell as well Nicole May to graduation. Those two combined to win 37 games in 2024 with just five losses. Left-hander Kierston Deal (14-1 with a 1,97 ERA this season) is the lone returning starting pitcher for OU.

In recent seasons, Gasso has replenished and strengthened Oklahoma's pitching staff by actively working the transfer portal. Paige Lowary (from Missouri), Hope Trautwein (North Texas), Alex Storako (Michigan) and Maxwell (Oklahoma State) were all acquired via that method.

So Oklahoma definitely is in need of an experienced starter, and on Saturday its was reported that NiJaree Canady, who for the last two seasons has pitched for Stanford and been the best pitcher in college softball both seasons based on earned run average. That may be pure coincidence, but the timing of the divergence of events and the opportunity for both parties is too great to ignore.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Sunday that Canady is entering the portal. She led the country this season with 337 strikeouts and an 0.73 ERA. Her combined record over the past two seasons is 41-10 in 54 career starts. Canady was the USA Softball Freshman of the Year and was voted College Player of the Year this season.

No question, if the Sooners were to pick up Canady from the portal, it would be a giant addition for Oklahoma as it enters the SEC beginning the coming school year.

This is a developing story to definitely keep an eye on, and it can't hurt that Canady is from Topeka, Kansas, a four-hour drive from Norman. A transfer to OU would make it much easier for Canady's family to see her play. She also would be joining a nationally recognized program with a championship pedigree and the best head coach in college softball.

The Sooners faced Canady twice in the 2023 Women's College World Series. OU won both games, but several Oklahoma players have called the Stanford star the toughest pitcher they have ever faced.

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