NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech bring stunning end to Oklahoma softball's dynastic run
OKLAHOMA CITY — We gather here today to say goodbye to the Oklahoma softball dynasty, and hello to the NIL era.
Because if Texas Tech just proved anything, it's that you can buy a championship. Last summer, the school spent a million dollars and change to lure the best player in softball to Lubbock, Texas, in hopes of making it to its first-ever Women's College World Series.
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Naturally, NiJaree Canady upped the ante.
The junior transfer from Stanford headlined a 3-2 defeat of No. 2 Oklahoma in the Women's College World Series semifinal on Monday. Canady struck out eight batters, allowing four hits, to end the Sooners' pursuit of a fifth straight national championship. Her efforts also helped send the Red Raiders to the championship series.
Of course, nothing is easy when it comes to facing the Sooners, who gave Canady everything she could handle.
In the top of the seventh, Canady was one strike away from shutting out the Sooners, who have not been held scoreless in more than 300 games, since exactly six years ago Monday, per the ESPN broadcast. Then, Oklahoma junior Abigale Dayton stepped up to home plate with everything going against her. The Sooners trailed 2-0 but had a runner on. There were two outs. It was the bottom of the seventh. And she was staring down a 0-2 count.
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Dayton hammered one out of the park, bringing squealing Oklahoma fans to their feet and tying the score at two to give the Sooners life.
But if the Sooners suggested that if there's one pitch left, there's life, the Red Raiders proved it.
Red Raiders redshirt sophomore Lauren Allred hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to secure Texas Tech's first-ever appearance in the WCWS championship series.
Canady, playing in her third WCWS after steering the Cardinal there the past two years, leads the nation with a dumbfounding 0.86 ERA and the Red Raiders with 11 home runs.
Oklahoma ace Sam Landry recorded six strikeouts and allowed only six hits, but the Sooners couldn't overcome the two-run hole it dug for itself in the second inning. After stomping their way to the WCWS by outscoring opponents 47-5, the Sooners were pinned to just eight runs and outscored 8-9 (if score stays 2-0) in Oklahoma City.
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No. 12 Texas Tech meets No. 6 Texas in the championship series starting Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Game 2 follows Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and Game 3, if necessary, is slotted for Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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Fox Sports
31 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
College football transfer portal all-impact team: Dillon Thieneman headlines defense
Thanks to the creation and proliferation of the transfer portal, player acquisition in college football now takes on a life of its own every winter and every spring. Coaches across the country — including those whose seasons haven't yet ended — begin remaking their rosters during the initial December transfer window and tweak them once more during a subsequent flurry of movement each April. Though equal parts maddening, exciting and unrelenting, the transfer portal has shown just how quickly programs can now change the trajectory of their seasons with a couple fistfuls of shrewd additions. Would Ohio State have won last year's national title without the likes of Will Howard (Kansas State), Caleb Downs (Alabama) or Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss)? Would Texas have reached back-to-back national semifinals without Quinn Ewers (Ohio State), Matthew Golden (Houston) or Andrew Mukuba (Clemson)? Identifying which transfers might make the largest contributions in 2025 is, of course, a subjective exercise — but a fun one nonetheless. It's a task rooted in the amalgamation of past production, future opportunity and the projection of how certain individuals might mesh with new coaches, teammates and schemes to influence the landscape of college football. We unveiled our offensive transfer portal all-impact team earlier this week. And now it's time to reveal our all-impact team on the defensive side of the ball: *Transfer Portal rankings courtesy of Edge rushers David Bailey, Texas Tech via Stanford (No. 12 transfer, No. 3 edge rusher) For the third year running, Bailey established himself as one of college football's most potent pass rushers on a per-snap basis, leading Stanford in tackles for loss (eight), quarterback hurries (eight), sacks (seven) and forced fumbles (five) despite playing just 364 snaps in 12 appearances, only two of which were starts. That he accumulated such noteworthy production in roughly half the playing time afforded to other leading edge rushers around the country — Penn State's Abdul Carter logged 734 snaps, Ohio State's JT Tuimoloau logged 667 snaps, Indiana's Mikail Kamara logged 671 snaps — underscores how effective Bailey might be this fall in an expanded role for Texas Tech. Bailey's quarterback pressure rate of one in every 9.3 snaps outpaced all three of his aforementioned contemporaries in 2024, while his pass rushing grade of 93.2 from Pro Football Focus narrowly edged Carter for highest in the country. Now a senior, Bailey enters his final year of eligibility tied for second among active FBS players with seven career forced fumbles and should enliven a Texas Tech defense that finished tied for 92nd in sacks last fall. Will Heldt, Clemson via Purdue (No. 41 transfer, No. 7 edge rusher) Heldt's decision to join Clemson last December was noteworthy both because of the caliber of player involved and the institution that recruited him. It was clear to most observers that Heldt, a true sophomore in 2024, was among the bright spots of an otherwise ghastly Purdue campaign that resulted in the dismissal of head coach Ryan Walters. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Heldt racked up 10 tackles for loss, five of which were sacks, and found the end zone on a 16-yard fumble recovery against Illinois. His scoop and score was part of a two-game stretch in which Heldt tallied nine quarterback pressures, 11 tackles (including two for loss) and 1.5 sacks against the Illini and Wisconsin combined. Heldt became the first scholarship defensive transfer to join Clemson under head coach Dabo Swinney, a noted skeptic and infrequent user of the portal. The Tigers' 2025 transfer portal class, which ranks 113rd nationally, only includes three players in Heldt, former Alabama linebacker Jeremiah Alexander (No. 704 transfer, No. 38 LB) and former Illinois State wide receiver Tristan Smith (No. 150 transfer, No. 29 WR). But landing an emerging edge rusher with multiple years of eligibility remaining represents a big win, and potential philosophical softening, for Swinney and his staff. Beau Atkinson, Ohio State via North Carolina (No. 95 transfer, No. 15 edge rusher) On paper, the defending national champions didn't assemble the same kind of splashy transfer portal class as they did last winter, when Ohio State landed the top overall player in Downs, the highest-rated running back in Judkins, the highest-rated quarterback in Julian Sayin and Howard, the former Kansas State signal-caller and eventual starter. That group boasted the highest average prospect score of any class in the country, according to 247Sports. This year's group, which ranks 25th, still includes likely starters at running back (CJ Donaldson from West Virginia), tight end (Max Klare from Purdue) and along the offensive line (Ethan Onianwa from Rice; Phillip Daniels from Minnesota), but it was the late-April addition of Atkinson that gave the Buckeyes a significant boost at position of need. The departures of veteran edge rushers JT Tuimoloau (12.5 sacks and 51 QB pressures in 667 snaps) and Jack Sawyer (nine sacks and 64 QB pressures in 698 snaps) for the NFL left Ohio State somewhat inexperienced on the edge, even though backups Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (316 snaps) and Caden Curry (231 snaps) both rotated in throughout the season. Atkinson, who notched 25 quarterback pressures last fall, finished the 2024 campaign with more sacks (7.5) in 381 snaps than Jackson and Curry combined (four). Defensive line David Blay Jr., Miami via Louisiana Tech (No. 51 transfer, No. 5 DL) Though many coaches and observers of collegiate athletics have grown frustrated with rules that allow players to change schools seemingly at will, Blay is an example of someone who used each of his two transfers to make a sizable leap in competition. The 6-foot-4, 303-pound defensive tackle began his career with two seasons at West Chester University, a Division II school in Pennsylvania. He parlayed that stint into an opportunity at Louisiana Tech in Conference USA, ultimately developing into a first-team all-league performer with 46 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 2024, leading the Bulldogs in the latter two categories. He was only charged with two missed tackles all season by Pro Football Focus and finished with a miss rate of just 5.4%, which ranked in the top 35 among interior linemen with at least 400 snaps played. From there, Blay entered the portal a second time last December and became a key piece of Miami's transfer haul that now sits third in the country behind LSU and Texas Tech. The only incoming Hurricanes ranked higher than Blay in the transfer portal were former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (No. 4 transfer, No. 2 QB) and former Wisconsin cornerback Xavier Lucas (No. 20 transfer, No. 1 CB). Bernard Gooden, LSU via USF (No. 47 transfer, No. 4 DL) Interior defensive linemen who can generate consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks are often worth their (hefty) weight in gold, which is why Gooden was such a valuable commodity when he entered the transfer portal in April. At 6-1 and 280 pounds, Gooden is a bit short and thin for a traditional power conference trench player, two things he'll have to overcome when making a jump in competition to the SEC. But his 2024 campaign at USF, which included honorable mention All-AAC recognition from the league's coaches, proved that Gooden is more than capable of harassing quarterbacks. Gooden tallied an impressive 35 quarterback pressures in 594 snaps to finish tied for eighth nationally with Ole Miss standout Walter Nolen (first-round pick) and one ahead of Michigan standout Mason Graham (first-round pick) among players with comparable snap counts. His biggest challenge at LSU, which ranked 61st in total defense last season, will be converting a greater percentage of pressures into sacks. Of the 18 interior defensive linemen who notched at least 30 pressures in 2024 — all but three of whom played in the power conferences — none finished with fewer sacks than Gooden (1.5). David Gusta, Kentucky via Washington State (No. 26 transfer, No. 2 DL) Gusta is another defensive tackle known for getting after the quarterback with aplomb, something he did consistently across 32 appearances (24 starts) at Washington State before entering the transfer portal in December. His 2024 pass rush grade of 84.8 from Pro Football Focus ranked fourth among defensive linemen who played at least 400 snaps last season behind Aeneas Peebles of Virginia Tech (91.2), Derrick Harmon of Oregon (86.3) and Vernon Broughton of Texas (86.3), though the quality of the Cougars' schedule as an independent can be fairly questioned. Still, Gusta transformed that pass-rush ability into 29 quarterback pressures, up from 16 the year prior, to finish tied for 20th nationally among linemen with comparable snap counts. At 6-3 and 316 pounds, Gusta has the requisite size to contend with hulking offensive linemen in the SEC, though Kentucky will be hoping he can hit the quarterback more often than he did at Washington State. Despite tallying 52 combined pressures over the course of his career, Gusta has only recorded 1.5 sacks in 1,256 snaps. Linebacker Dasan McCullough, Nebraska via Oklahoma (No. 123 transfer, No. 4 LB) A former blue-chip prospect from the 2022 recruiting cycle, McCullough is now attending his third school in the last four years. His collegiate career began with rich fanfare when McCullough, a native of Bloomington, Indiana, became the highest-rated player (No. 75 overall, No. 9 edge rusher) to sign with Indiana in the recruiting rankings era. He made an immediate splash by appearing in all 12 games and earning freshman All-American honors after leading the Hoosiers in sacks (four) and ranking second on the team in tackles for loss (6.5). The 6-5, 223-pound McCullough then transferred to Oklahoma, where head coach Brent Venables and the staff converted him from a traditional edge rusher into a chess piece at the second and third levels of the defense. In 2023, McCullough lined up for 128 snaps in the slot, 80 snaps in the box and 60 snaps along the defensive line, according to Pro Football Focus, and finished the season with 30 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, and three pass breakups amid an injury-marred campaign. He missed the first half of the 2024 season with a stress fracture in his foot but returned to his hybrid role down the stretch: 57 snaps in the box, 54 snaps at slot corner, 49 snaps along the defensive line. Now a senior, McCullough is expected to have more pass-rushing opportunities at Nebraska under first-year defensive coordinator John Butler. Khmori House, North Carolina via Washington (No. 71 transfer, No. 3 LB) House was only a three-star prospect coming out of football powerhouse St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, but his list of suitors indicates college coaches were much higher on him than the recruiting services. He chose Washington over Texas, Auburn, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee, among others, and joined the Huskies as the No. 590 overall player and No. 56 linebacker in the 2024 cycle. Defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the son of legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick, trusted House enough as a true freshman to put him on the field consistently for a unit that finished the year ranked 28th nationally in total defense. House averaged 29.5 snaps per game from Week 3 through the end of the season and chipped in 35 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and four pass breakups. His final defensive grade of 63.5 from Pro Football Focus ranked seventh in the country among freshmen linebackers behind only Javion White of Tulane (76.3), Vincent Shavers Jr. of Nebraska (70.9), Davhon Keys of LSU (69.8), Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa from Notre Dame (67.6), Simeon Coleman of Cincinnati (66.3) and Sammy Brown of Clemson (65.6). The familiarity between House and Belichick, both of whom are now at North Carolina, should ease the installation of the Tar Heels' new system. Josiah Trotter, Missouri via West Virginia (No. 353 transfer, No. 14 LB) While not as highly rated as his contemporaries on this list, Trotter earned the nod for his appealing combination of youth and on-field production as a first-year starter at West Virginia in 2024. Trotter, who previously redshirted as a true freshman, is the son of former NFL linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, a two-time All-Pro with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2000 and 2001, and the brother of current Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., a former second-team All-American at Clemson in 2022. The younger Trotter flashed some of the family's trademark toughness while winning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year last fall, racking up 93 tackles — including four tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks — while also intercepting one pass and recording two pass deflections. His stoutness around the line of scrimmage was reflected in a run defense grade of 80.9 that ranked fourth in the country among underclassmen linebackers who logged at least 500 snaps, while his missed tackle rate of just 7.1% ranked fourth in the same age bracket. Trotter reached double-digit tackles in games against Penn State (10), Kansas (11), Iowa State (12) and Cincinnati (12) en route to finishing second on the team in total stops. Listed as a redshirt sophomore, Trotter should have three years of eligibility remaining at Missouri. Cornerback Jeremiah Wilson, Florida State via Houston (No. 78 transfer, No. 8 CB) Wilson's decision to join Florida State can be traced to his time as a three-star cornerback at Osceola High School in Kissimmee, Florida, during the 2022 recruiting cycle. Rated as the No. 110 cornerback in the country, Wilson committed to Syracuse over additional scholarship offers from Arizona, Coastal Carolina, Iowa State and Washington State, among others, in part because of his relationship with then-defensive coordinator Tony White, who now holds the same position for the Seminoles. White slowly worked Wilson onto the field by doling out 200 snaps over the course of his freshman season before leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Nebraska. Wilson spent one more year at Syracuse and then transferred to Houston ahead of the 2024 campaign. He logged a career-best 557 snaps for the Cougars last fall and enjoyed a highly successful season that included 24 tackles (3.5 for loss), four interceptions and four pass breakups with a coverage grade of 86.9 that ranked 12th in the country among corners with comparable snap counts. His tally of four INTs, which included a pick-six against Baylor, was good enough for third in the Big 12 and tied for 21st nationally. Wilson originally entered the transfer portal on Dec. 9 but withdrew his name four days later. He entered the portal again on April 18 — by which point White had settled in as FSU's new defensive coordinator — and committed to the Seminoles a week later. Tacario Davis, Washington via Arizona (No. 32 transfer, No. 2 CB) This is a reunion between Davis, who began his career at Arizona, and Jedd Fisch, the head coach he originally signed with coming out of high school. Davis was a three-star prospect and the No. 107 cornerback in the country for the 2022 recruiting cycle when he first enrolled at Arizona to play for Fisch, the Wildcats' head coach from 2021-23. A reserve role in his freshman season gave way to a starting job in his second and final year under Fisch as Davis blossomed into a second-team All-Pac-12 performer by leading the conference with 15 pass breakups, a byproduct of his 6-4 frame that is unusually tall for the cornerback position. Davis remained at Arizona for the 2024 campaign when Fisch left to become the head coach at Washington, once again garnering second-team all-conference honors amid the Wildcats' first year in the Big 12. He is expected to step into a starting role opposite another 6-4 corner in Ephesians Prysock, a fellow Arizona transfer. Prysock was teammates with Davis in 2022 and 2023 before following Fisch to Washington ahead of last season. With more than 3,200 career snaps between them, Davis and Prysock will form one of the most experienced — and, very likely, the tallest — cornerback tandems in the country this fall. Theran Johnson, Oregon via Northwestern (No. 208 transfer, No. 25 CB) For the second consecutive offseason, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi are rebuilding their secondary ahead of what many expect to be a high-level, championship-caliber season for the Ducks. A year ago, the additions of safety Kobe Savage (Kansas State), cornerback Jabbar Muhammad (Washington) and slot man Brandon Johnson (Duke) propelled Oregon to a 13-0 start that included a Big Ten Championship and the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff. None of those players are still on the roster entering the 2025 campaign, which made the appeal of immediate playing time quite obvious for someone like Johnson, a redshirt senior with limited eligibility remaining. Originally a three-star recruit, Johnson signed with Northwestern over additional scholarship offers from Notre Dame and Cincinnati. He spent two seasons in a reserve role before developing into a starting corner in 2023 and 2024, logging more than 1,300 snaps during that span. Johnson finished his Northwestern career with three interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown, and 15 pass breakups. His tally of eight pass breakups in 2024 was tied for 24th nationally and fourth among Big Ten cornerbacks behind Muhammad (10), Thaddeus Dixon of Washington (10) and Robert Longerbeam of Rutgers (nine). Safety Dillon Thieneman, Oregon via Purdue (No. 11 transfer, No. 1 safety) As important as Northwestern transfer Theran Johnson will be for Oregon's secondary this fall, the addition of former Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman was the capstone of a portal class that ranked fifth in the country behind LSU, Texas Tech, Miami and Ole Miss. Now a junior, Thieneman was the most coveted safety in the transfer market following two standout seasons for the Boilermakers. In 2023, during his true freshman campaign, Thieneman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a third-team All-American by the Associated Press when he led the team with 106 tackles and ranked third nationally with six interceptions — all despite entering college as a three-star recruit and the No. 988 overall prospect in the country. Thieneman followed up with a strong individual performance during his sophomore season for a team that failed to win a single conference game. He led all Big Ten defensive backs with 104 tackles, which included the first sack of his collegiate career, and proved tidy on the back end by recording six pass breakups without a single penalty. His positional versatility over the last two seasons included 1,152 snaps at free safety, 298 snaps in the box and 118 snaps in the slot. Oregon will be counting on him to anchor a secondary that is short on experience and in need of cohesion. Cole Wisniewski, Texas Tech via North Dakota State (No. 155 transfer, No. 5 safety) Most college football fans probably aren't familiar with Wisniewski, a former zero-star recruit from the western side of Wisconsin whose only FBS scholarship offers came from Air Force, Navy, Northern Illinois and Wyoming. Wisniewski spurned all of them and spent the last five seasons at North Dakota State, an FCS school with rich tradition that won two national championships during his time on the roster. A 6-4, 220-pound safety, Wisniewski converted from linebacker following the 2022 season and was promptly named a consensus first-team FCS All-American in 2023 when he tied both the school and conference single-season record for interceptions (eight), while also leading the Bison with 92 total tackles and five pass breakups. A foot injury that required surgery eventually sidelined Wisniewski for the entire 2024 campaign before he entered the transfer portal last December, ultimately joining a portal class that now ranks second in the nation behind LSU. Wisniewski, who has one season of eligibility remaining, is expected to become the starting strong safety for a unit that brought in high-level transfers at all three levels after finishing 127th in total defense (460.2 yards per game) and 122nd in scoring defense (34.8 points per game) last fall. Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13. 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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
SEC Football Power Index Rankings from ESPN
The 2025 college football season is less than three months away. Summer workouts are in full swing, and teams will begin gearing up for fall camp before we know it. The Oklahoma Sooners are looking for a resurgent season in year two in the SEC. Year one was mired by injuries and inexperience on the offensive side of the ball, leading to a 6-7 season for the second time in three years under Brent Venables. Heading into 2025, Oklahoma will have a new look on the offensive side of the ball. Venables is hoping that the significant overhaul on offense will help a unit that finished 98th in the nation in scoring last year. Venables entrusted the offense to Ben Arbuckle, one of the hottest offensive coordinator names in the game. Along with John Mateer, Arbuckle is looking to revitalize the offense and return it to the standard that has been set for over 25 years. With the offense in good hands, Venables took back the playcalling duties following Zac Alley's departure for West Virginia. Venables has been one of the best defensive minds in the game for the last two and a half decades. Though he'll have to replace Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman, and Ethan Downs, Venables has a lot of talent to work with on the defensive side of the ball. Though there still may be questions ahead of the 2025 season, there's reason to be optimistic about the Sooners. A number of the post-spring power rankings believe the Sooners are one of the best 25 teams in the nation in 2025. And the computers tend to agree. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle In the latest update to the ESPN Football Power Index, the Oklahoma Sooners come in at No. 16 overall in the rankings. The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete. - ESPN Football Power Index Here's a look at how the SEC ranks, along with where they rank overall in ESPN's Football Power Index and record projections. 16. Vanderbilt Commodores Overall: 56 Projected Win-Loss: 4.8-7.2 The ball-control style of the Vanderbilt Commodores won't get a lot of love from the computers. They want to shorten the game and minimize possessions to limit exposure of the Commodores defense. Diego Pavia led a magical season in 2024. Can he do it again in 2025? 15. Mississippi State Bulldogs Overall: 52 Projected Win-Loss: 4.4-7.6 Jeff Lebby has a tough road ahead for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Any success they have will be predicated on the offense scoring a bunch of points and that's going to require a bounce-back season from Blake Shapen. 14. Kentucky Wildcats Overall: 34 Projected Win-Loss: 5.6-6.4 It feels like a big season for Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats after his first season without a bowl game since 2015. 13. Missouri Tigers Overall: 23 Projected Win-Loss: 6.9-5.2 Missouri is coming off of back-to-back 10-win seasons but will be replacing a first round offensive tackle, the heart beat of the program in Brady Cook, and their playmakers on the outside, Luther Burden and Theo Wease. The schedule is manageable but it may be a fall from grace for Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers. 12. Arkansas Razorbacks Overall: 22 Projected Win-Loss: 6.1-5.9 Arkansas was one of the more pleasant surprises in SEC play last year. Led by Taylen Green, they upset Tennessee and returned the Hogs to a bowl game. 11. Florida Gators Overall: 18 Projected Win-Loss: 6.4-5.6 The only team that might have a schedule as tough as the Oklahoma Sooners is the Florida Gators. Billy Napier is hoping D.J. Lagway can build off of his first run through college football a season ago and take the Gators to the playoff. 10. Oklahoma Sooners Overall: 16 Projected Win-Loss: 6.9-5.1 It may not all be on John Mateer, but a large portion of Oklahoma's success is riding on John Mateer and Ben Arbuckle and the way the offense plays in 2025. 9. South Carolina Gamecocks Overall: 15 Projected Win-Loss: 7.3-4.8 LaNorris Sellers has the tools to be one of the best in the nation but he'll need the defense to be as good as it was a year ago for the Gamecocks to contend. 8. Auburn Tigers Overall: 14 Projected Win-Loss: 7.5-4.5 If Jackson Arnold can shake off the 2024 season, the Auburn Tigers will be dangerous. 7. Ole Miss Rebels Overall: 13 Projected Win-Loss: 8.3-3.8 Lane Kiffin had the Rebels on the cusp of the playoff last year. But a loss to Kentucky spoiled those plans. Gone are a number of veterans that led on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Jaxson Dart. 6. LSU Tigers Overall: 12 Projected Win-Loss: 7.9-4.2 The LSU Tigers have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Garrett Nussmeier. So much of LSU's success will be dependent on how much the defense has grown over the offseason. 5. Tennessee Volunteers Overall: 10 Projected Win-Loss: 8.7-3.4 There was so much made about Nico Iamaleava's departure and Joey Aguilar's arrival that people forget that Josh Heupel leaned on the run and played defense a lot in 2024. 4. Texas A&M Aggies Overall: 8 Projected Win-Loss: 8.1-4.1 The Texas A&M Aggies will go as far as Marcel Reed's arm will allow them. If he's improved as a passer this offseason, the Aggies could be trouble in the SEC. 3. Alabama Crimson Tide Overall: 3 Projected Win-Loss: 9.6-2.8 Though year one of the Kalen DeBoer era at Alabama ended in disappointment, he's still a talented coach with a talented roster. They could be playoff bound in 2025. 2. Georgia Bulldogs Overall: 2 Projected Win-Loss: 10.1-2.3 If there was any team in the country that I'd put my money on to win the national championship it would be the most consistent team in the nation over the last five years, the Georgia Bulldogs. 1. Texas Longhorns Overall: 1 Projected Win-Loss: 10.4-2.1 The people love the Longhorns and the computers love the Longhorns. If Texas isn't in the national championship game, it'll be viewed as a disappointing season. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
'The athletes deserve it': Patty Gasso lobbies to change double-header format
'The athletes deserve it': Patty Gasso lobbies to change double-header format The college softball world came to a halt on Monday night as the Texas Tech Red Raiders dethroned the Oklahoma Sooners in dramatic fashion with a walk-off sacrifice fly. The Red Raiders rally came after a two-run, game-tying home run from Abigale Dayton in the top of the seventh inning. Before that, Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady was throwing a gem. The Sooners nearly extended the game to extra innings. Had the Sooners won in extras, the two teams would have turned around 30 minutes later and played again to determine who would face Texas in the Women's College World Series championship. It didn't come to that, but that didn't stop Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso from sharing her opinion on the doubleheader format in the semifinals. "I've been in this tournament enough, and there's one thing that has to change," Gasso began. "I'm going to say it out loud, and I hope the committee is going to look at this. If we are all about women's athletics and women's sports and rah-rah, do not make us play doubleheaders to get to a national championship series. Do not do that. Don't do that. They don't do it in baseball. It should not happen." The Women's College World Series has become a spectacular event over the last decade. One that's garnered increased exposure on television and led to record ratings over the years. Programs are investing more into their softball programs, and the results are noticeable. The games have been fantastic. In the Women's College World Series, there was only one game decided by more than three runs. That's how tight and dramatic these matchups have been. It would have been a shame to force a double-header to determine who would play for the national championship. And Gasso wasn't even thinking about the Sooners as she mentions that Tech would have felt maybe a bigger impact. "If we were to win or if Texas Tech were to lose, and they made it here all the way undefeated and they were to lose to us, and then we have to play another game right after, that is not fair," Gasso continued. "It's not fair to them more than it is not fair to us because we didn't get there on the road that they did. But we've got to make changes." Canady has thrown every pitch for the Red Raiders in Oklahoma City. And had the Sooners won and forced the winner-take-all game two Monday night, it's likely she would have thrown every pitch in that game. Though one could argue that's the bed Gerry Glasco made by riding his ace throughout the WCWS, it would have been detrimental to the sport not to get a rested Canady in the decider. Gasso explained that any concerns that fans wouldn't come back to watch are unfounded. The way the game has grown, it has never been more popular. From those watching in person to the traffic it generates on social media, softball has become a national phenomenon every May and June. It's best for the game and, more importantly, as Gasso discusses, for the athlete to allow them to get some rest before playing the second game. "We've got to put money into this. People will watch. They'll come back, and they'll watch this next day. This is one of the most-watched championships in any sport. Softball is one of the top. So why wouldn't you want to come back and watch that 'if' game? Or would you rather watch us have zero energy left and you're not able to throw your best because you're just trying to scrap it together? It's unfair to the athletes at this high level. That is my soapbox. Let's try to change that, even if it's going to cost a little bit of extra money. These athletes deserve it. And thank you all very much. Thank you for listening." As Terrance Mann, played by James Earl Jones, said in Field of Dreams, "People will come." The game has grown to such heights that die-hard and casual fans are tuned in for every pitch and every inning. Though the doubleheader didn't impact who was playing for the national title in 2025, that doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile discussion to be had. And when the Queen of College Softball says something, you have to believe rules committees take notice.
