Latest news with #GerryGlasco
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Texas Tech's $1M ace ready for WCWS final vs. Texas
June 3 - Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady already understands spotlight trophy games can be salve for wounds carried into the Women's College World Series. Canady gets the ball Wednesday against Texas as the Red Raiders set out to claim the best-of-three championship series in Oklahoma City. Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco has to like his chances in the team's first-ever WCWS considering Canady is 33-5 with a miniscule 0.90 ERA. "She is unbelievable. She's really tough," Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said of facing Canady. "It was hard to square her up. It was hard to make solid contact." Canady has thrown every single pitch for Texas Tech in the WCWS, which last happened in 2019 (Rachel Garcia, 2019). She stands in the way of Texas' bid for its first softball national championship. It has been a painful season for her beyond the box score. Glasco revealed Monday before the Red Raiders bounced the Sooners from the tournament that Canady pitched part of the season with a torn hamstring. He halted throwing sessions between starts and rarely went to the bullpen for anything other than a quick stretch after the injury in February. Three whole days later, she returned to start against -- and beat -- No. 5 Texas A&M. "We actually were joking about it on the bus, if you would have asked us earlier in the year, earlier in the preseason if we would be two games away from hoisting a national championship trophy, we would probably laugh," Canady said Tuesday, downplaying the severity of her hamstring injury. "We took some hard losses early on. Honestly, just feel like we've just grown as a team. Part of the road getting here is peaking at the right time. I feel like we're finally just catching our step, and we're getting to know each other on the field, and I feel like we're just playing for each other right now." Texas Tech landed Canady in a transfer portal move from Stanford. She signed a $1 million NIL agreement to take her talents to Lubbock. Clearly, making starts while ailing was not a requirement. But Canady said she kept pushing with one goal in mind: winning on this stage. The road led back to the WCWS, where Texas and star sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan sent Canady and the Cardinal packing in 2024. They were the pitchers of record in the Longhorns' pair of wins over Stanford in Oklahoma City last year. "Obviously she's going to hold offenses off quite a bit, and so it's always in the back of your mind," Kavan said. "It's a challenge, and I like when it's a pitchers' duel -- it's just to compete in this atmosphere and against the best." Kavan's road to OKC's spotlight circle was atypical. She came to Texas via Dowling Catholic in Iowa, where Kavan never played one inning of softball. She only put on her cleats for a summer travel team. This season, she's 26-5 with a 2.33 ERA and 224 strikeouts in 192 1/3 innings. To get Texas to the title series, Kavan delivered a complete game victory over Oklahoma with eight strikeouts, hours after learning of the death of her grandmother. "It's not easy obviously, but I think what helped me is, at the end of the day, it's just a game, and I think I put it into perspective, just chucking a yellow ball and people are running and turning left, and so I just wanted to have fun," Kavan said. --Field Level Media
CNN
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Texas Tech ends Oklahoma's four-year WCWS title run to set up all-Texas final series
Texas Tech ended softball titan Oklahoma's four-year reign at the summit of college softball to set up an all-Texas Women's College World Series (WCWS) finals against the UT Longhorns. While Texas advances to the finals for the second consecutive season – and third time in four years – Tech had to get through the Sooners, who beat the Longhorns in all three of those finals, in order to reach its first ever WCWS championship. Oklahoma went into this postseason as the winner of the last four NCAA Division I softball titles. It took a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh for the No. 12 seeded Red Raiders to beat the No. 2 Sooners. Tech had a 2-0 lead heading into the final inning when a two-run home run from junior outfielder Abigale Dayton saw that lead evaporate. There was one out in the bottom of the 7th when a string of hits and a sacrifice fly from Red Raiders' RBI leader Lauren Allred sent Mihyia Davis home to score the walk-off winner. The historic victory comes only days after Tech beat the winningest team in WCWS championship history, UCLA, 3-1 to reach the semifinals. 'It's been our motto all year: 'Our chance forever.' And we can leave a legacy at Texas Tech that will be remembered forever in the minds of the people that are able to watch this ballclub,' head coach Gerry Glasco said after the win. 'I think our team, they've left a legacy that will be remembered forever among sports fans that have been able to watch us this year.' The Longhorns beat No. 7-seeded Tennessee 2-0 after a shutout performance from starter Mac Morgan to reach the WCWS finals. Morgan gave up three hits, one walk and had four strikeouts over four scoreless innings. The senior's fantastic outing combined with a solo Katie Stewart home run – her 17th of the season – and Joley Mitchell's run on a throwing error in the sixth were enough to seal the win. Sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan became the program's record saves leader when she came on in relief in the fifth inning and earned her eighth career save. The Longhorns' win sets up the first intrastate finals in 21 years – when UCLA beat California 3-1 in the 2004 championship game. 'We're a different team than we were back in February when we last played Tech and so just sticking to what we're doing now and … sticking with our game plans and I think we'll be just fine,' sophomore Stewart said. The best-of-three championship series kicks-off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
CNN
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Texas Tech ends Oklahoma's four-year WCWS title run to set up all-Texas final series
Texas Tech ended softball titan Oklahoma's four-year reign at the summit of college softball to set up an all-Texas Women's College World Series (WCWS) finals against the UT Longhorns. While Texas advances to the finals for the second consecutive season – and third time in four years – Tech had to get through the Sooners, who beat the Longhorns in all three of those finals, in order to reach its first ever WCWS championship. Oklahoma went into this postseason as the winner of the last four NCAA Division I softball titles. It took a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh for the No. 12 seeded Red Raiders to beat the No. 2 Sooners. Tech had a 2-0 lead heading into the final inning when a two-run home run from junior outfielder Abigale Dayton saw that lead evaporate. There was one out in the bottom of the 7th when a string of hits and a sacrifice fly from Red Raiders' RBI leader Lauren Allred sent Mihyia Davis home to score the walk-off winner. The historic victory comes only days after Tech beat the winningest team in WCWS championship history, UCLA, 3-1 to reach the semifinals. 'It's been our motto all year: 'Our chance forever.' And we can leave a legacy at Texas Tech that will be remembered forever in the minds of the people that are able to watch this ballclub,' head coach Gerry Glasco said after the win. 'I think our team, they've left a legacy that will be remembered forever among sports fans that have been able to watch us this year.' The Longhorns beat No. 7-seeded Tennessee 2-0 after a shutout performance from starter Mac Morgan to reach the WCWS finals. Morgan gave up three hits, one walk and had four strikeouts over four scoreless innings. The senior's fantastic outing combined with a solo Katie Stewart home run – her 17th of the season – and Joley Mitchell's run on a throwing error in the sixth were enough to seal the win. Sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan became the program's record saves leader when she came on in relief in the fifth inning and earned her eighth career save. The Longhorns' win sets up the first intrastate finals in 21 years – when UCLA beat California 3-1 in the 2004 championship game. 'We're a different team than we were back in February when we last played Tech and so just sticking to what we're doing now and … sticking with our game plans and I think we'll be just fine,' sophomore Stewart said. The best-of-three championship series kicks-off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma softball's Sam Landry to face former coach Gerry Glasco, Texas Tech in WCWS
Oklahoma softball's Sam Landry to face former coach Gerry Glasco, Texas Tech in WCWS Show Caption Hide Caption Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady and Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens lead WCWS players to watch The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson highlights several Women's College World Series key players to watch. Sam Landry will enter the pitching circle Monday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City with the weight of the world on her shoulders. The Oklahoma pitcher will be tasked with helping keep the No. 2 Sooners' dreams of a fifth consecutive national championship alive when she faces off against No. 12 Texas Tech in what could be the first of two games in a jam-packed evening at the Women's College World Series. As she does that, she'll be going up against more than a few familiar faces at the plate and in the opposing dugout. REQUIRED READING: OU softball's Sam Landry, Texas Tech's Gerry Glasco to meet in WCWS semifinals Before arriving at Oklahoma last year, Landry was a star for three seasons at Louisiana, where she played for first-year Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco and alongside five Red Raiders players. On Monday, a group of people who she worked with and grew close with over the previous three years stands in the way of her and a national title appearance. 'I'm a completely different pitcher, person and player than I was when I was at Louisiana,' Landry said Sunday after Oklahoma's elimination-game win against Oregon. 'We're still going to work it like any other game. Get the scout on them, find some holes and go through it. Keep it like any other game and not make it too big.' Here's a closer look at Landry's ties to the Texas Tech program, including her time at Louisiana and why she didn't follow Glasco to become a Red Raider: Sam Landry Louisiana career From virtually the moment she first stepped foot on a college diamond, Landry has been a difference-maker. The Mont Belvieu, Texas native was an immediately impactful player for Glasco at Louisiana, where she went 20-3 with a 2.15 ERA as a freshman in 2022. Her win percentage led all Sun Belt pitchers. She only got better from there. As a sophomore in 2023, she led the Ragin' Cajuns back to the NCAA tournament by earning most outstanding player honors at the Sun Belt tournament, where she struck out 18 batters and allowed only one run and three hits across 14 innings pitched. That same season, she threw a no-hitter against Lafayette while striking out a career-high 13 batters. In her third and ultimately final season at Louisiana, she helped lead the program to yet another NCAA tournament appearance while winning 24 games, striking out 165 batters and earning first-team all-Sun Belt honors. REQUIRED READING: Texas Tech softball vs. Oklahoma in WCWS: Scouting report, predictions for Red Raiders, Sooners Why didn't Sam Landry follow Gerry Glasco to Texas Tech? Texas Tech's roster is littered with several players who followed Glasco when he made the move from Louisiana to the Red Raiders. Why wasn't his star pitcher from the Ragin' Cajuns one of them? Landry had known Glasco since she was in middle school and he was coaching at a camp she attended with her team. She committed to him early, giving Louisiana a verbal pledge in February of her freshman year of high school. While with the Ragin' Cajuns, she developed a strong bond with Glasco and his wife, Vickie, regularly visiting their house and even taking in one of their dogs, a beagle named Beaux. Glasco has described Landry as being 'like a daughter to me.' 'They became my family out there,' Landry said to The Oklahoman. 'They were the first people I called if anything went wrong. It wasn't even from a softball standpoint; it was if something went wrong, Gerry is who I'm calling.' When Glasco left Louisiana for Texas Tech after the 2024 season, it stood to reason that Landry might tag along with him to Lubbock, particularly once she entered the transfer portal on July 1. At that time, though, the Red Raiders were among the programs pursuing Stanford transfer and reigning national player of the year NiJaree Canady. Texas Tech ended up signing Canady in late July — inking her to a million-dollar NIL deal — but even before that happened, Glasco knew there was at least a chance of landing arguably the sport's best pitcher and didn't want Landry to have her opportunities limited if she came to Texas Tech. 'I want you to be happy,' Glasco remembered telling her, according to The Oklahoman. 'And I think I've got a chance at getting Nija Canady. My relationship with you … you've always been like the ace, and I don't want to have a different relationship than that with you. It would be different, and I don't want to take any chance on losing my friendship with you.' Landry, who was pursued by many of the top programs in the sport, ultimately signed with Oklahoma, where she has been the Sooners' ace. This season, she's 25-5 with a 1.89 ERA and 180 strikeouts and made the all-SEC first team. She was recently the No. 1 pick in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft. Glasco has thrived in his new home, as well. After inheriting a program that went 8-16 in the Big 12 last season, he has led Texas Tech to a program-record 52 wins and its first-ever WCWS appearance. At least some of that success has been thanks to Canady, who has a 32-5 record and 0.86 ERA. 'I think it was my time to kind of separate and be able to watch him coach from the outside and live his dream,' Landry said to The Oklahoman. 'He's coaching with one of his daughters right now, and I think it's absolutely beautiful to see.'
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Great views from the broadcast
Follow our coverage of the WCWS from Oklahoma City as the five remaining teams chase the softball national title Imagn Images All these close-up camera angles, allowing us to see dirt flying to spit flying, are part of why softball is such a fun product is the number of cameras that give us a front-row seat, even from our coaches. Did you know when ESPN first started broadcasting the WCWS in 1982 it did so with just four cameras? Now, there are more than 40 cameras. Imagn Images Seeing Gerry Glasco get so hyped for his team after escaping that jam (and almost getting ejected) is so great to see. This program is reaching new heights with every game it remains in OKC, and that kind of energy is necessary if you're trying to make history by advancing to a first-ever WCWS semifinal. T3 - Texas Tech 0, UCLA 0 The Texas Tech bullpen is getting warm, as a very, very rare occurrence is taking place in OKC: NiJa Canady is struggling. That's her second walk today, and the ace does not take those lightly. But the changeup she just pulled the string on against Taylor Stephens may have just gotten her back in the groove, as she strikes her out on three pitches. Now THAT is grace under pressure. Canady just stranded the bases loaded to erase the Bruins' threat. B2 - Texas Tech 0, UCLA 0 The Bruins are making Nijaree Canady and the Red Raiders' defense work, as Rylee Slimp just beat out Canady's throw for a bunt base hit to give UCLA two runners on with one out. That, on top of some frustration with the strike zone, can send things southward for a defense really quickly, but we'll see if Canady can calm things down here for her team. Things are getting spicy as Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco appears to have just received a warning from the umpire crew after mouthing off about the iffy strike zone so far. T2 - Texas Tech 0, UCLA 0 And while Nijaree Canady is known for her signature 70-mph rise ball, she's already leaning on her changeup early against these Bruins batters. She's leaned on that pitch slightly more this year than she has in the past, and it's making its presence known at the WCWS. Joley Mitchell on her three home runs in the past two games. That was quite the easy inning for UCLA's Taylor Tinsley in the circle, tossing just nine pitches to sit the Red Raiders in order. And a mind-blowing stat on Texas Tech ace Nijaree Canady (let's be honest, which numbers of hers aren't, at this point?): Fifty percent of the outs she has recorded in her collegiate pitching career have come via strikeout. Absolutely dominant. Kayden Henry on her Texas team's win over Oklahoma today. It's time for UCLA vs. Texas Tech. The winner advances to the national semifinals. Here we go. Imagn Images We're closing in on our second winners' bracket game of the night, where NiJaree Canady and Texas Tech will take on Jordan Woolery and UCLA. While the Red Raiders enter this matchup on a nine-game winning streak, the Bruins may still have some momentum after taking down former Pac-12 and current Big Ten rival Oregon with a walk-off homer on Thursday night. In previous matchups between Texas Tech and UCLA, UCLA has dominated with a 5-0 record. The most recent contest between the two teams was in an early-season tournament in February 2022, when the Bruins won a tight 2-1 game. I have a really hard time picking against Canady, so I'm going with the Red Raiders to finally flip the script on the Bruins and win this one. I will say, though, UCLA has really brought the fight in its past couple of games, with that walk-off against Oregon and another against South Carolina before winning the rubber match against the Gamecocks as well to advance to OKC. I think the biggest question is if the Texas Tech offense can get more than one run to give Canady some room to work with. Imagn Images Something to look for in this game: UCLA's Megan Grant is batting .333 against NiJaree Canady in her career, with three extra-base hits. These Bruins hitters are familiar with Canady as she played at Stanford last season when the Cardinal and Bruins were still in the same conference in the Pac-12 before it dissipated ... and before Canady transferred. Imagn Images We have played seven games in Oklahoma City in the Women's College World Series. One of those games was a blowout (Tennessee's 11-3 run-rule win over Florida). But the other six games have been decided by 10 total runs. Wow. Imagn Images Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan went the distance today against Oklahoma. She allowed seven hits and two runs, one earned. She walked two and struck out eight. What a performance in such a big spot. Imagn Images Our second game today will pit UCLA vs. Texas Tech. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. ET start. It will be broadcast by ESPN. Imagn Images The Sooners drop into the losers' bracket, and they will face Oregon at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. That game will be broadcast by ESPN. The winner will face either Texas Tech or UCLA on Monday. Imagn Images The Longhorns move into the national semifinals, and they will play Monday. They will face either Tennessee, Texas Tech or UCLA. That Monday game will be played at Noon ET and will be broadcast by ESPN. Oh wow, Teagan Kavan is emotional talking to Holly Rowe after her stellar performance in the circle today, as she shares on the broadcast that her grandma has very recently passed away. Kavan mentioned that her grandmother's favorite part of the day was watching softball, and now, with the "best seat in the house," Texas finally took down its biggest rival. What a great story. Teagan Kavan just took it to another level!!! She hits 71 mph on the radar to strike out Hannah Coor to end the game! That's Texas' first-ever win over Oklahoma in the WCWS, finally slaying the demon that had been hanging over its head for quite some time and all season since last year's championship series. The Texas defense really came to play today, and Kavan threw a sparkler of a game today.
