Hello softball fans! Welcome to part 1 of my AUSL 2026 “did not meet expectations” list.
First on the list is Nijaree Canady. Nijaree is one of the best players to ever play at the college level. She started her career at Stanford, and did so well that she famously received a $1M NIL deal from Texas Tech to transfer and play ball with the Red Raiders. Nijaree led Texas Tech to two WCWS final berths, though they did lose to eventual champion Texas each year. But even appearing in the final was a meteoric rise for the Texas Tech softball program, who before Nijaree Canady wore the uniform, only had half a dozen playoff appearances and had never even made it to the super regional.
So expectations were sky high when Nijaree received an AUSL golden ticket during her senior season, and was later the #2 overall pick of the Texas Volts in the 2026 AUSL college draft. She played for Texas Tech, drafted by Texas Volts, seemed like a no-brainer.
But her rookie season did not go according to plan. The Volts finished the season with the worst record in the AUSL at 7-18, and Nijaree’s numbers just weren’t very good.
She finished the season with a 1-6 record, 4.67 ERA, 36 innings pitched, 18 strike outs, and .302 opponents batting average.
Overall the Volts are not a very good team which does not help, but I don’t know if it was fatigue, or nerves, or what, but Nijaree just did not look like herself on the mound. Obviously she has the talent to be as successful as anyone in the AUSL, and I definitely would not count her out for a big bounce back year in 2027. Hitters be warned!
