Football season is officially over and basketball season is starting to enter the most vital stretch of the conference schedule, which can only mean one thing: Big 12 softball is right around the corner.
The 2025 college softball season will get underway in just a few weeks, and with Oklahoma and Texas both out of the league, the Big 12 is as wide open as we’ve seen it in decades.
Oklahoma State has long been among the top teams in the country and would appear to be the favorite to win the league now that the four-time defending national champs are in the SEC, but NiJaree Canady and the Texas Tech Red Raiders might have something to say about that.
The Red Raiders are already making history, with Gerry Glasco’s first season still a month away, as TTU will enter the year as the No. 9 team in the country–the program’s highest-ever ranking.
Canady is the reigning USA Softball Player of the Year and headlines the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country after leading Stanford to back-to-back appearances in the Women’s College World Series. Last year, Canady led the country in ERA (0.65) and strikeouts (337) as a sophomore, and also held opponents to a .147 batting average.
She’s joined by standout Louisiana transfer outfielder Mihyia Davis, who won the NFCA Golden Shoe Award as a Freshman and also won the Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2024.
Freshmen Hailey Toney (INF) and Samantha Lincoln (LHP) were also named to D1Softball’s Top 100 freshmen watch list and should play immediate roles for Glasco’s first team in Lubbock.
Oklahoma State enters as the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 4, with No. 14 Arizona and No. 16 Baylor following closely behind.
The Red Raiders will kickoff their 2025 seasons against Marshall in the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
