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2026 NCAA softball preview: Can Texas Tech, NiJaree Canady bounce back?

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2 days ago

February 3, 2026

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2026 NCAA softball preview: Can Texas Tech, NiJaree Canady bounce back?

Step up to the plate: The 2026 softball season is here.

Texas won its first national championship in program history after defeating instate rival Texas Tech in a winner take all Game 3 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. But the Red Raiders are ranked No. 1 in at least one preseason poll on the strength of NiJaree Canady’s right arm and the team’s top-ranked transfer class.

“Obviously it will be very difficult to improve upon our 2025 season, but as a staff we feel like we have made tremendous improvements as we enter our second season at Texas Tech,” head coach Gerry Glasco said.

Here’s five storylines heading into the 2026 softball season, including some early player of the year nominations:

NEBRASKA softball coach refuses to project ceiling for Huskers’ season

Who won the transfer portal?

The addition of Stanford transfer NiJaree Canady paid instant dividends for Texas Tech in Gerry Glasco’s first season as head coach. The Red Raiders made their first Women’s College World Series appearance last season and fell just short of the program’s first national championship as runner-up to Texas.

Don’t be surprised to see Texas Tech back in Oklahoma City. The Red Raiders reloaded their roster with a top transfer class that brings depth at the pitcher position and extra pop to the lineup. The seven newcomers combined for 105 home runs last season, an upgrade from Texas Tech’s 60 homers.

Texas Tech added All-Americans Mia Williams (Florida), Taylor Pannell (Tennessee) and Jasmyn Burn (Ohio State), plus Kaitlyn Terry (UCLA), Lagi Quiroga (Cal) and Jackie Lis and Desirae Spearman (Southern Illinois).

“We wanted to add depth and experience in as many places as possible as we try to win the national championship,” Glasco said.

Can Texas defend championship?

The Longhorns are in prime position to repeat with many contributors of their championship squad returning. Sure, the departure of senior third baseman Mia Scott is a blow, but Texas will have continuity in the circle with ace pitcher Teagan Kavan and catcher Reese Atwood back. Kavan had a 28-5 record with a 2.16 ERA and 230 strikeouts last season, while Atwood was named the NFCA Catcher of the Year after leading the team in home runs (21), RBIs (89), slugging percentage (.822) and walks (41).

Atwood and Kavan are among 10 players from Texas’ championship squad that are coming back. Four of those players — Atwood, Kavan, Kayden Henry and Katie Stewart — were named to the 2026 preseason All-SEC Team selected by a vote of the conference’s 15 head coaches. Texas’ four selections tie Oklahoma for the most. The Longhorns were also picked to win the 2026 SEC Championship.

The Longhorns will also get a boost from the return of shortstop Viviana Martinez, who was sidelined the entire 2025 season with an injury. Martinez started 61 games in 2024 and had a .376 batting average with 70 hits, 52 RBIs and 46 runs.

Texas led the nation in hits (630) last season and its lineup will be even more dangerous with the additions of transfers Kaiah Altmeyer (Arizona), Taylor Anderson (Oklahoma State) and Brenlee Gonzales (Texas Tech).

What’s up with Oklahoma this season?

Oklahoma’s reign of four consecutive national titles ended last season, but the Sooners look to return to softball supremacy with a squad that features a mix of veterans, the top-ranked 2026 recruiting class and key transfers.

Let’s start in the circle. Right-handed pitcher Sam Landry was the Sooners’ ace last season with 191.2 total innings pitched, 114 more innings than left-handed pitcher Kierston Deal. With Landry having graduated, Deal will most likely get the ball and look to bounce back from a down year, where her ERA was up and strikeouts were down. She posted a 10-2 record with 50 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA in 77.2 innings last season, compared to her 1.97 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 78.1 innings in 2024. Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso brought in reinforcements with transfer pitcher Sydney Berzon, who recorded a 18-8 record and 2.46 ERA as LSU’s ace in 2025.

That’s not the only additions. Oklahoma’s recruiting class includes Keegan Baker, Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Jerrell “Ori” Mailo, Malaya Majam-Finch, Ella Kate “EK” Smith and Payton Westra.

“This is one of the best incoming freshman classes that we’ve had in a while,” Gasso said. “There’s a little bit of everything from pitching to great defense, but some big time hitters are going to make this offense powerful and elite. All of these athletes fit the championship mindset mentality.”

We can’t forget about the returning Oklahoma players. Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas, Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering were all named to the 2026 All-SEC team. Despite battling an injury much of the season, Parker hit 15 homers and drove in 53 runs while batting .423.

Player of the Year candidates

Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady: The 6-foot right-handed senior was unanimously named to the Big 12 preseason team after posting a 1.11 ERA last season and leading the Red Raiders with 11 home runs. Canady was named to the USA Softball 2026 Collegiate Player of the Year watch list. She was one of three finalists in for the award in 2025 after winning it in 2024 at Stanford.
Texas catcher Reese Atwood: The 6-foot senior became the first Longhorns player to hit 20 or more home runs in back-to-back seasons and led the nation in with 89 RBIs, the second most in program history behind her own 90 mark in 2024. She was also solid behind the plate and posted a .988 fielding percentage with 313 putouts, 18 assists and four errors.
Nebraska pitcher Jordy Frahm: The 5-foot-8 two-way player recorded 23 homers and a .462 batting average last season, in addition to 286 strikeouts and a 1.56 ERA. She was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, becoming the first player to earn both in the same season.
Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens: The 6-foot-1 senior pitched over 226.2 innings last season and posted a 25–11 record with a 1.17 ERA and 306 strikeouts. She was named SEC Pitcher of the Year after leading the conference in ERA, games started (34), complete games (25), shutouts (7), innings pitched and strikeouts.

How much more parity is there in softball?

No. 1 overall seed Texas A&M was upset in its home regional in College Station, Texas, by Liberty in the postseason, marking the first time in history the top overall seed failed to advance out of its own regional.

The defeat highlights the growing parity in college softball, which can be tied directly to the transfer portal and NIL money being poured into programs. Landing a star player can change a program’s entire trajectory.

Texas Tech won the program’s first Big 12 championship and made its first WCWS appearance following the addition of NiJaree Canady in the transfer portal. It was made possible by Canady’s landmark NIL deal which paid her upwards of $1M, believed to be the largest in softball history. Canady landed another deal for the 2026 season and helped attract the team’s top transfer class.

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Warm winter weather returning to North Texas with highs above average into next week

Published

11 hours ago

February 5, 2026

Press Room

Warm winter weather returning to North Texas with highs above average into next week – CBS Texas

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First Alert meteorologist Michael Autovino has the latest forecast.

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ERCOT ranked D- for Texas power grid planning, among nation’s worst according to report

Published

24 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Press Room

ERCOT ranked D- for Texas power grid planning, among nation’s worst according to report

article

HOUSTON, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 21: The U.S. and Texas flags fly in front of high voltage transmission towers on February 21, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Millions of Texans lost power when winter storm Uri hit the state and knocked out coal, natural gas and nu

AUSTIN, Texas – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages power for about 90% of the state’s electric load, received a D- grade in 2025, according to a Feb. 2025 transmission planning report by Grid Strategies and the nonprofit advocacy group Americans for a Clean Energy Grid.

Texas’ D- grade for its electric transmission planning and development, ranks among the lowest-performing regions in the country as electricity demand from data centers, industry and population growth accelerates.

Texas D- for grid planning

Photo courtesy: Grid Strategies/Americans for a Clean Energy Grid

What they’re saying:

The grade reflects weaknesses across multiple categories, particularly Texas’ lack of interregional transmission planning and limited long-term, scenario-based grid planning, the report said.

This is because Texas operates its own electric grid through ERCOT, which connects more than 54,000 miles of transmission lines and over 1,200 generation units, but is largely isolated from the rest of the U.S. power system.

“Across most regions, interregional coordination relies on reliability-focused studies rather than proactive, scenario-based planning with durable selection and cost-allocation frameworks. As a result, interregional transmission remains one of the weakest elements of the national planning landscape, with planned capacity generally falling short of estimated need.”

ERCOT’s isolated grid and challenges

AUSTIN, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 19: Electric power lines run through a neighborhood on February 19, 2021 in Austin, Texas. Amid days of nationwide frigid winter storms in which 58 people died, more than 4 million Texans were without power for much of the pa

Since the Texas grid is electrically separate from the Eastern and Western interconnections, the report cites ERCOT’s failure to routinely plan transmission links with neighboring regions, limiting the state’s ability to import or export power during extreme weather or system emergencies.

Dig deeper:

Texas’ transmission planning has also relied heavily on reliability-only studies rather than long-term, multi-scenario planning that accounts for future energy demand changes, extreme weather and economic benefits, the report said.

Indicating that many large transmission projects approved in Texas are developed to address immediate reliability needs, rather than as part of a comprehensive planning framework.

The delayed Permian Basin Reliability Plan

The report cites the Permian Basin Reliability Plan that was approved in Oct. 2024 to maintain reliability and connect significant electronic loads in the Permian Basin, primarily based on recent studies of oil, gas and data center loads, as well as address load growth in eastern Texas.

When that plan was released in July 2024, it identified two options; a 345 kV portfolio and a 765 kV portfolio. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved the plan just three months later.

The plan was passed without a decision on which portfolio to use until April 2025, highlighting transmission projects that were planned largely in isolation and do not include a full assessment of long-term benefits over the lifetime of the infrastructure.

“Accelerating demand growth is compressing planning timelines and raising the stakes for regions that continue to rely on reactive approaches,” the report said, noting that Texas’ current planning practices may not be sufficient to maintain reliability and control costs over the long term.

Comparing Texas’ progress to national standards

Big picture view:

While Texas showed some progress in regional transmission development within the state, those efforts were not enough as the report assigned Texas a C for regional planning, an F for interregional planning, a B for stakeholder engagement, and a C- for outcomes, producing an overall D-, a drop from the state’s D+ rating in 2023.

Photo courtesy: Grid Strategies/Americans for a Clean Energy Grid

Nationally, the report found modest improvements in transmission planning in several regions following federal reforms adopted for the purpose of innovating in regional planning. But the report warns that regions relying on incremental or siloed approaches, including Texas, risk falling further behind as electricity demand surges.

The Source: Information in this article was provided by Grid Strategies and Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG).

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Texas school voucher applications open today: What families need to know before applying

Published

1 day ago

February 4, 2026

Press Room

Texas school voucher applications open today: What families need to know before applying

HOUSTON – Texas families can begin applying today, Feb. 4 at 9 a.m., for the state’s new Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), also known as the school voucher program, which runs through March 17.

State officials said that this is not first-come, first-served, but parents and guardians should have key documents ready before they start the application.

While the window is open now, if the number of applicants exceeds available funding, capped at roughly $1 billion, the state will prioritize applicants based on income and special-needs status. It may conduct a lottery to allocate funds.

Here’s what families should prepare before applying online:

Valid ID and Social Security numbers for parents and children — proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful residence is also required.
Income documentation, such as recent tax returns, because it is partially determined by household income.
Documentation of special needs (like an IEP) if applying under that category.
A plan for where the voucher money will go — funds are sent directly to registered schools or providers, not to families.

Families whose applications are approved can receive up to about $10,400 per student, with higher amounts, up to around $30,000, available for students with documented special needs.

About 1,600 private schools across Texas, including many in the Houston area, have already opted in to participate, and families must select one eligible school in the portal if they plan to use the funds for private education.

State officials say the application should take about 10 minutes to complete, and the portal will remain open until 11:59 p.m. on March 17.

Award notifications are expected beginning in early April, and initial funding for approved families will be available starting July 1 for the 2026-27 school year.

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