The 2025 softball season is right around the corner and with Oklahoma and Texas out of the picture, the league us up for grabs.
Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Baylor, and Arizona all appear primed and ready to take over as the conference’s new top dog, and all of them have the talent to do it.
In fact, three of those four teams landed a player on the first-team All-American list for D1Softball, which was released on Wednesday afternoon.
Baylor first baseman Shaylon Govan is back for another season in Waco and has been the Bears’ biggest bat over the past two seasons. In 2024, Govan led the team in batting average (.444) and RBI (35) and also earned All-Big 12 First Team honors and was also a unanimous NFCA First-Team All-American. She ranks second all-time in Baylor single-season batting average (.444), fourth all-time in Baylor single season slugging percentage (.739), and is the single-season record holder with a .579 on-base percentage in 2024.
Next on the list is Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady, the top overall transfer in the 2024-25 cycle and the best returning player in softball. The reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year led the nation in strikeouts (337) and ERA (0.73) and maintained a 24-7 record in the circle for Stanford in 2024. Over her first two seasons with the Cardinal, Canady has a 41-10 overall record and a 0.67 ERA.
The final Big 12 player named a D1Softball First-Team All-American is Arizona outfielder Dakota Kennedy. During her breakout sophomore season in 2024, Kennedy maintained a batting average of .400 and a .521 on-base percentage to go along with 13 home runs and 34 RBI. Kennedy was even better on the defensive side of the ball, earning the NFCA/Rawlings Gold Glove after finishing the season with a 1.000 fielding percentage in left field, leading the Wildcats with 111 putouts over 56 starts.
The Big 12 also saw four players named to D1Softball’s Second-Team All-American list, with a trio of Oklahoma State Cowgirls in Karli Godwin (1B), Megan Delgadillo (UT), and Ruby Meylan (P), as well as Iowa State standout Angelina Allen (UT).
