Teagan Kavan's ‘guarded' approach differs from NiJaree Canady, spurring Texas' WCWS run nonetheless

New York Times

15 hours ago

OKLAHOMA CITY — Every pitch Teagan Kavan throws follows a similar routine. She stretches her right foot ahead of her left, bends her knees, raises her left arm to check the pitch call on her watch as her right hand bobbles the ball. Her gloved left hand meets her right one, she winds up and lets it fly.
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It's a symphony of movement — everywhere but her face, where her muscles are static. The hitter has no idea what she's thinking, and that's exactly how she wants it.
'I always try to have good composure for my team and stay strong for them, but also just growing up my mom has wanted me to keep my composure through everything,' Kavan told The Athletic. 'I like to stay locked in and be what my team needs from me. I like to show some emotion every now and then, but just let it out when it needs to.'
Kavan's approach differs from her counterpart for Friday's decisive Game 3 of the Women's College World Series finals. While Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady is known for her electric 'NiJa stomp,' especially after key strikeouts, Kavan is unassuming, disguising a fierce competitor trusted to deliver the Longhorns their first national championship.
She might shake her fist or point to a teammate after a good defensive play, but Kavan said harnessing her emotions in the circle helps her throw both strikes and doubts the batter's way. And it's working. In winning Game 1 against Texas Tech on Wednesday by allowing just three hits, Kavan tied Cat Osterman as the winningest Texas pitcher at the WCWS with five career victories, and improved to 4-0 against Canady — the nation's leader in ERA.
'Compartmentalizing, she does that very well,' Kavan's mother, Theresa, said. 'Don't let people know what you're thinking. Don't let it bother you. (Pitching) is what you do, it's not who you are. No matter what you do (in the circle), good or bad, it doesn't define who you are.'
With bases loaded in the top of the first, Teagan Kavan escapes the jam and gets NiJaree Canady to ground into a double play
The Longhorns fans' 'Texas fight' chant ensues pic.twitter.com/qHMHHIFhct
— Lauren Merola (@laurmerola) June 5, 2025
Her steady hand helped her avoid disaster in Game 1, when Texas Tech loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first inning. To escape, she got Canady to ground into a double play. She celebrated with a singular clap of the hands and an enthusiastic point to third baseman Mia Scott. Then, she was back at it, inducing an inning-ending groundout.
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Kavan entered Thursday's Game 2 in relief with runners on first and third and allowed the two inherited runners to score in a messy sixth inning that included a couple of fielding errors, but that didn't shake her teammates' trust heading into Game 3.
'Every game she comes into she has just a super tough mentality and I don't think that's gonna change in Game 3 of this series,' Katie Cimusz said. 'I think if anything it's gonna make her stronger. I know she wants it for herself as well as the entire team, so I think she comes out there (Friday) with the toughest mentality she's ever had.'
Tuning out the noise was a skill learned from Kavan's mother and grandmother. Kavan's grandmother, or Miney, as she was called, coached Theresa, who was also a pitcher and played one year collegiately.
Miney, who died before the Longhorns' WCWS game against Oklahoma on May 31 at 97 years old, was a sports rat, adjusting her fandom from Iowa — Kavan is a West Des Moines, Iowa native — to Texas when Kavan moved south.
'Every day of her life, she would watch ball games,' Theresa said. 'The last year of her life, year and a half of her life, it was watching Texas.'
"Teagan Kavan is my hero today." ❤️
Hours after her grandmother passed away Saturday morning, Texas' ace earned the complete-game win against Oklahoma. Hear from Kavan and her teammates on her inspiring performance.#WCWS pic.twitter.com/wYhfaKSFm0
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 1, 2025
Her birthday, Nov. 17, is the reason Kavan dons No. 17. After Kavan found out Miney died, she knew she would still take the circle against the Sooners, telling her teammates that morning she 'was ready to go today,' Joley Mitchell said. She posted eight strikeouts in seven innings, including three in the bottom of the seventh to refuse any momentum for an Oklahoma comeback.
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Mitchell said postgame that 'Teagan Kavan is my hero today,' while a tear escaped her right eye as she rubbed the shoulder of Kavan, seated to her right.
'This is where (Miney) wants me to be,' Kavan said. 'She always told me that she'll always have my back, and so I know she's out there and I know she has my back. I say everything happens for a reason, and so I think she just wanted to watch.
'I want her to see us hold it up for her and for this university, the first one, for the whole state and for these girls and these coaches. I just want her to see us end up on top in the best seed.'
Texas coach Mike White predicted Thursday that Kavan will stay 'guarded' during the final game, but given the stakes, she might show a little more emotion to meet the moment.
'She's not going to wear her emotions on her sleeves but there's going to be moments where she's going to pump up and fire and show her emotions to her team to let her team know she's giving it everything she has,' White said. 'I think she'll do a little more of that than what she's done in the past.'