Texas Softball Recruiting and Portal Thread

[Hank_Hill 18,791]

Best case scenario besides us getting her. We sure as shit weren’t going to pay her that, and for good reason.

[SamMan 1,362]

5 hours ago, LonghornSean said:

 

4 hours ago, Hornsbay22 said:

They will be a legit threat at the championship.    That offense is 10x better than Stanford with all the transfers.  I bet her numbers go down some though, the ball flys out of that park.

3 hours ago, chiu1040 said:

I didn’t know who they were before today, but I had heard of the company name. John and Tracy Sellers are contributing money. Tracy played softball at Tech. John is the CEO of Double Eagle Energy. That company sold parts of their company for over 9 billion dollars.

Somebody missed the most epic thread on this entire website…and, now I want CFS.

[chiu1040 63]

Somebody missed the most epic thread on this entire website…and, now I want CFS.

Our family moved overseas for a while, and I wasn’t able to folllow the Horns as closely. What did I miss?

[closetojumping 62,555]

12 hours ago, BurntOrange&White said:

I wish we had some donors who were nuts 

Texas has “nutty” benefactors in multiple sports. The football payroll for the 2024 cycle (recruiting and roster management getting us to this season) was met at a number close to the fucking Tampa Devil Rays payroll. Basketball, WBB, baseball, volleyball, fucking golf. 

You want to land the likes of Canady in softball, go find someone who just loves Texas and loves softball who also happens to be worth billions. $1M for a softball player is like paying a football player $10M/year out of your own pocket. 

[Js1 85,275]

29 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Texas has “nutty” benefactors in multiple sports. The football payroll for the 2024 cycle (recruiting and roster management getting us to this season) was met at a number close to the fucking Tampa Devil Rays payroll. Basketball, WBB, baseball, volleyball, fucking golf. 

You want to land the likes of Canady in softball, go find someone who just loves Texas and loves softball who also happens to be worth billions. $1M for a softball player is like paying a football player $10M/year out of your own pocket. 

If the Love's lady was not willing to match for OU, considering their history and the best coach in the game, I find it hard to believe any other school was/could match this offer.

This was a former player and her booster husband going hog wild. 

[closetojumping 62,555]

10 minutes ago, Js1 said:

If the Love's lady was not willing to match for OU, considering their history and the best coach in the game, I find it hard to believe any other school was/could match this offer.

This was a former player and her booster husband going hog wild. 

Yeah, it’s just something we’re going to see across all sports. Every cycle, someone, somewhere is going to go crazy for a player or two in most sports. 

I am assuming Chavez is going to cost a ton. I’m interesting in seeing how committed Texas is to getting her if the money is the deciding factor. WBB has a lot more support at the moment. 

[MuellerHorn 4,228]

22 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Yeah, it’s just something we’re going to see across all sports. Every cycle, someone, somewhere is going to go crazy for a player or two in most sports. 

I am assuming Chavez is going to cost a ton. I’m interesting in seeing how committed Texas is to getting her if the money is the deciding factor. WBB has a lot more support at the moment. 

All for that. WBB is a powerhouse in the making. No reason they can't be a UCONN or USCe. Getting Chavez puts a national title in grasp.

Edited July 25 by MuellerHorn

[Rickylovesweed 14,262]

2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Yeah, it’s just something we’re going to see across all sports. Every cycle, someone, somewhere is going to go crazy for a player or two in most sports. 

I am assuming Chavez is going to cost a ton. I’m interesting in seeing how committed Texas is to getting her if the money is the deciding factor. WBB has a lot more support at the moment. 

Yeah, I was saying this yesterday. 

It's pretty obvious they have some "nutty benefactors" in WBB with the way they are recruiting (HS and portal). I think the same can be said of volleyball. We pretty much bought a championship 2 years ago via the portal in volleyball. 

 

 

[RockyMountainHighHorn 890]

3 hours ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Yeah, I was saying this yesterday. 

It's pretty obvious they have some "nutty benefactors" in WBB with the way they are recruiting (HS and portal). I think the same can be said of volleyball. We pretty much bought a championship 2 years ago via the portal in volleyball. 

 

 

People are just going to keep upping the ante. I’m just waiting for the day that a school pays a rapper to put a recruit in a song. It’ll happen, cheap way to buy a recruit. 

[perfectchaos007 6,625]

7 minutes ago, RockyMountainHighHorn said:

People are just going to keep upping the ante. I’m just waiting for the day that a school pays a rapper to put a recruit in a song. It’ll happen, cheap way to buy a recruit. 

Is this how Texas landed Mo Bamba?

 

(kidding)

[RockyMountainHighHorn 890]

Just now, perfectchaos007 said:

Is this how Texas landed Mo Bamba?

 

(kidding)

I know he wasn’t bought that way but you don’t think a recruit wouldn’t sign for that? You don’t think dakorien Moore would sign here if he rhymed with “pour/more/lore” in a Travis Scott song. Or softball player in a Morgan wallen song. There will be more than just cars and $$$. 

[bschoolprof 6,252]

so with OU not getting Canady, are we #1 to start the year?

[Js1 85,275]

5 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

so with OU not getting Canady, are we #1 to start the year?

Most likely! Hard to see otherwise 

Likely also favorites to win the SEC 

Edited July 25 by Js1

[SL Xpress 7,513]

7 hours ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Yeah, I was saying this yesterday. 

It's pretty obvious they have some "nutty benefactors" in WBB with the way they are recruiting (HS and portal). I think the same can be said of volleyball. We pretty much bought a championship 2 years ago via the portal in volleyball. 

 

 

Pennies on the dollar. The biggest NIL payday in that portal class was Kaitlyn Hord, who was paid about $100,000 for a year at Nebraska. We lost that one after having her on campus. Skinner and Fleck were the big names brought in, and neither of them were paid above the low tens of thousands of dollars. Both of them are hustlers who leveraged a lot of their own NIL deals. Fleck runs a series of libero camps she tours nationwide with. Caffey was done dirty by Nebraska, but was paid bare minimum NIL dollars by Texas (which is still more than anyone in the country that year outside of Nebraska). Akana wanted a scholarship and John Cook said no, while Texas said yes. Bergmark was hardly a high dollar transfer. Both her and Ewert simply wanted to go somewhere to compete at the highest level. Your post insinuates Texas volleyball paid top dollar for that championship, when nothing could be further from the truth. They had a bunch of unhappy people transfer out, including Cabello and Williams to NC State, Fields to USC, Iosia to Michigan State, and Peterson to play her Covid year with her sister and her head coach Mom at Northern Iowa. 

It LOOKS like an NIL extravaganza, but it was more about timing and no one else having any NIL resources devoted to volleyball. Even now Texas is ahead of the curve versus everyone other than Nebraska, who has lapped the field with their NIL riches in volleyball. 

I know this is the softball thread, but I didn't want to let that throwaway comment pass without a response. 

Edited July 25 by SL Xpress

[Rickylovesweed 14,262]

1 hour ago, SL Xpress said:

Skinner and Fleck were the big names brought in, and neither of them were paid above the low tens of thousands of dollars. 

 

I'm not going to put this out in the open but you couldn't be more wrong about Skinner. 

Lol there are really people that think Skinner and her family went from despising Texas to then picking Texas. Let me tell you, her father wanted nothing to do with Texas. 

Edited July 26 by Rickylovesweed

[SL Xpress 7,513]

1 hour ago, Rickylovesweed said:

I'm not going to put this out in the open but you couldn't be more wrong about Skinner. 

Lol there are really people that think Skinner and her family went from despising Texas to then picking Texas. Let me tell you, her father wanted nothing to do with Texas. 

How much do you think she was paid to come to Texas after her sophomore season at Kentucky?

Brian Davis did a FOIA request of UT athletics for all reported NIL deals. The highest compensated player on the volleyball team was at $50k, which was Logan Eggleston due to her appearance in the national ad for Champion's sports apparel. But if you feel like you have better information regarding her compensation level, by all means share it. 

The difference is Texas showed Skinner a path where she could earn more through NIL through her own efforts. Same thing happened with Ayden Ames, who had more guaranteed NIL money from Nebraska but preferred the opportunities at Texas. Also, Texas wasn't competing with Nebraska for Skinner, and no one else had any real organized NIL money for their volleyball program. There's still a huge gap out there, frankly.

What you're insinuating is Texas basically bidding against itself. It simply didn't take much NIL money to help convince Skinner to come to Texas, because no one else out there really had anything. 

[Cairn Horn88 8,260]

12 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Yeah, it’s just something we’re going to see across all sports. Every cycle, someone, somewhere is going to go crazy for a player or two in most sports. 

I am assuming Chavez is going to cost a ton. I’m interesting in seeing how committed Texas is to getting her if the money is the deciding factor. WBB has a lot more support at the moment. 

It’s like going to a Christie's or Sotheby's auction, only to find a bidder who sees an item (player) that they are in awe of and dead set on bidding on, regardless of the price…..they will be the winning bidder….the end!

[Rickylovesweed 14,262]

12 minutes ago, SL Xpress said:

What you're insinuating is Texas basically bidding against itself. It simply didn't take much NIL money to help convince Skinner to come to Texas, because no one else out there really had anything. 

Skinner's entire family hated Texas. It took a week for Texas to even get her family to answer a phone call. They had to pay above market price for Skinner because she wanted to literally go anywhere else. 

You can call it "hustling on her own" or whatever bullshit you want to call it but she was paid more than the low tens of thousands. Do you honestly think a family that despises Texas just all of a sudden did a 180?

Edited July 26 by Rickylovesweed

[Cairn Horn88 8,260]

4 hours ago, bschoolprof said:

so with OU not getting Canady, are we #1 to start the year?

 

[Cairn Horn88 8,260]

2 hours ago, SL Xpress said:

It LOOKS like an NIL extravaganza, but it was more about timing and no one else having any NIL resources devoted to volleyball. Even now Texas is ahead of the curve versus everyone other than Nebraska, who has lapped the field with their NIL riches in volleyball.

What happens if, say Nebraska, lays out…say $100K on a stud VB player, and it doesn’t help them get to the top….and then it happens again…donors will possibly back off in giving that kind of $$$$ without results in the future….I know there are injuries, coaching and other variables that can produce championship teams…so, I guess donors are betting on getting in the best players and hoping it pays dividends.  Interesting on how this NIL stuff pans out.

[Cairn Horn88 8,260]

21 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Skinner's entire family hated Texas. It took a week for Texas to even get her family to answer a phone call. They had to pay above market price for Skinner because she wanted to literally go anywhere else. 

You can call it "hustling on her own" or whatever bullshit you want to call it but she was paid more than the low tens of thousands. 

What was Skinner’s/family’s beef with Texas?

[conVINCEd 21,469]

1 hour ago, Cairn Horn88 said:

What was Skinner’s/family’s beef with Texas?

Dad played basketball at Baylor.  Maybe it’s that simple.

[Js1 85,275]

According to the boards, Glasco went to the Louisiana admin and said he needed $500k in NIL budget just to compete with P4 and they didn't follow through.  Tech lured him with a decent NIL budget (everyone on the roster gets $10K) and he was told he could hire whoever he wanted as assistants. So he hired his daughter as his #1 assistant / pitching coach after 5 years as HC of Eastern Illinois, 3 years as pitching coach at Eastern Illinois and 3 years as an assistant coach at Georgia with her dad.

Boy, can't imagine why 65 year old Glasco would hire his daughter as his #1 assistant.  Trying to do a Gasso and hand it off to his kid when he retires thing. 

It's obvious Canady (and her father) took the bag over anything else if she decided to go be coached by Glasco's daughter instead of 2 of the best pitching coaches in the country (Rocha and Mike White). Florida just hired Chelsea Dobbins from UNC and Alabama has Lance McMahon entering his 3rd year at Bama, which aren't quite as big names as Rocha and White. 

Other than the Louisiana transfers, Tech's offensive roster isn't booming with big hitters.  And those Louisiana players did it in the Sun Belt, not a Power conference.  You never know if those numbers will translate when they are facing Arizona, OKST, Utah pitching and not Troy, ULM, App State, JMU, South Alabama.  The best pitcher they faced all conference season was Mullins. 

Edited July 26 by Js1

[SamMan 1,362]

On 7/25/2024 at 2:48 AM, chiu1040 said:

Our family moved overseas for a while, and I wasn’t able to folllow the Horns as closely. What did I miss?

It was just a reference to the Ewers thread on the recruiting board. Those guys were discussed when Tech emerged as a serious contender for Quinn.

[chiu1040 63]

I live in the OKC metro now.  Some contractors that came over were discussing Canady and slightly peeved, saying that she didn't want to play for championships.  They implied there was a Gasso discount, similar to the Saban discount at Alabama.

[Js1 85,275]

22 minutes ago, chiu1040 said:

I live in the OKC metro now.  Some contractors that came over were discussing Canady and slightly peeved, saying that she didn't want to play for championships.  They implied there was a Gasso discount, similar to the Saban discount at Alabama.

I mean, I don’t think she does if she chose Tech. She’s not going to drag that roster in 2025 to a title. Maybe 2026 depending on the portal and if Glasco finds a bunch of players who want to play with Canady in her final year. But they won’t be getting $1m NIL offers.

The NCAA also basically opened up for unlimited transfers. So she could just decide to bounce after a year with a $1m check to a title contender lol

[bschoolprof 6,252]

28 minutes ago, Js1 said:

 

The NCAA also basically opened up for unlimited transfers. So she could just decide to bounce after a year with a $1m check to a title contender lol

Yep, that's why the current regime we have now in college sports of unrestricted free agency with 1 year contracts is a terrible idea.  No pro league would ever be stupid enough to set this up.  

[Js1 85,275]

3 hours ago, bschoolprof said:

Yep, that's why the current regime we have now in college sports of unrestricted free agency with 1 year contracts is a terrible idea.  No pro league would ever be stupid enough to set this up.  

If I'm Jordy Bahl, I'm like "what the fuck" because her NIL is like half that and she was 44-2 with a 0.97 ERA and 2 titles. 

[Cairn Horn88 8,260]

I can’t feel sorry for players who gravitate to the $$$$ and then become unhappy or disgruntled with the results…imho.

[Hookem2147 21,194]

The Athletic with some more details on Canady's decision and how it went down

Spoiler

"John and Tracy Sellers arrived in Lubbock, Texas, the evening of Monday, July 22, with dinner reservations and an intention: to woo the best college softball player in the world to play for Texas Tech.

The dinner was at Las Brisas, a white-tablecloth steakhouse just south of Texas Tech’s campus that serves up lobster guacamole and a 25-ounce bone-in ribeye. The player was NiJaree Canady, USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year.

There were six seats at the table: the Sellers, Marc McDougal (a board member of the Matador Club, a Texas Tech-affiliated name, image and likeness collective), Canady and her parents. No coaches or university administrators. Just a few well-connected Tech supporters and a family with a menu full of options. The group made fast friends over a nearly three-hour meal.

Canady, a 6-foot pitching phenom from Topeka, Kan., was visiting Lubbock for the first time. She was less than two months removed from leading Stanford to the Women’s College World Series semifinals as a sophomore, garnering mainstream headlines in the process. A few weeks later, she entered the transfer portal, the biggest star of a burgeoning sport hitting the open market.

The youngest person at the table that night, Canady held all the power. But she also had a tough decision ahead, still wary of leaving Stanford behind. Texas Tech softball isn’t on the same level as Stanford, and cowers in comparison to a blue blood like Oklahoma, but the Sellers could offer a distinct perspective. John played football for the Red Raiders under Mike Leach. Tracy played softball at Tech and was on the search committee for newly hired softball manager Gerry Glasco, whom Tech lured from Louisiana after five Sun Belt Conference titles and a .773 winning percentage in seven seasons.

The Sellers could offer distinct resources, too. John co-founded Double Eagle Energy, a multi-billion-dollar upstream oil-and-gas company that operates in the nearby Permian Basin region of West Texas. He also co-founded Matador Club, which he oversees with business partner and fellow Red Raiders alum Cody Campbell. The collective aims to sign every athlete on campus to an NIL deal – achieving it in football, men’s and women’s basketball, softball, baseball, track and golf, including $25,000 each for football players and $10,000 each for softball. In 2022, the Sellers gifted Texas Tech athletics $11 million, with $1 million going toward facility upgrades to Rocky Johnson Field, Tech’s softball stadium."

...

"Less than 48 hours later, they got the answer they were hoping for. Canady announced on social media Wednesday afternoon that she was committing to Texas Tech, and Matador Club announced it had signed Canady to an NIL agreement soon after. The contract is for one year and $1,050,024, as The Athletic previously reported. It’s believed to be the highest-ever NIL contract for a softball player — by a wide margin.

The $24 is for Canady’s jersey number. The $50,000 is for living expenses. And the $1 million is for Canady."

...

"According to an individual with knowledge of Canady’s transfer and NIL negotiations this offseason and two other sources involved with Stanford, Canady’s family first approached Stanford’s NIL collective, Lifetime Cardinal, in the spring of her freshman season in 2023. The family was seeking a seven-figure offer.

At that point, Stanford had been slow to embrace an NIL landscape drifting deeper into pay-for-play, and the athletic department had yet to claim an affiliation with Lifetime Cardinal. The collective didn’t extend an offer to Canady after her freshman season, and it came as a surprise to some there when she did not enter the portal in 2023.

Canady declined an interview for this article through representatives from her management team and Texas Tech. Canady’s mother, Katherine, did not respond to requests for comment.

This past April, Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir gave the department’s official blessing to Lifetime Cardinal, which has since involved several former Stanford athletes, including quarterback Andrew Luck, in the collective.

By the time Stanford reached a second straight WCWS last month, all parties realized a bidding war was coming for Canady’s right arm — but few outside of Lubbock could have predicted the final sale price. The going rate for a star pitcher in the portal was believed to be in the $100,000-$150,000 range."

 

[Js1 85,275]

6 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Canady’s family first approached Stanford’s NIL collective, Lifetime Cardinal, in the spring of her freshman season in 2023. The family was seeking a seven-figure offer.

It was always about the money 

[MuellerHorn 4,228]

2 hours ago, Js1 said:

It was always about the money 

Yep. Invest half. At her age, she's set. However, enjoy Lubbutt, Canady.

[txhorns 2,409]

I can't blame a college softball player for taking the major payday.  After college there is no future for them to make money through athletics.  This is very likely the most money Canady will ever make.  

[perfectchaos007 6,625]

6 minutes ago, txhorns said:

I can't blame a college softball player for taking the major payday.  After college there is no future for them to make money through athletics.  This is very likely the most money Canady will ever make.  

Oh I don’t mind athlete getting the bag one bit. I DO have issues with athletes and their parents that act like academics is of any importance when making their final decision. Just take the bag and go, don’t try to take the moral high ground with education is important bullshit 

Edited July 29 by perfectchaos007

[Pato del Muerto 52,485]

36 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

Oh I don’t mind athlete getting the bag one bit. I DO have issues with athletes and their parents that act like academics is of any importance when making their final decision. Just take the bag and go, don’t try to take the moral high ground with education is important bullshit 

Eh. Negotiations require leverage. 

[Gut Wagon 8,065]

I'm not shocked by Canady's move. Stanford has always been a feeder school for Tech. 

[torre 1,285]

The contract is for one year and $1,050,024

 

Wonder if 1 year vs 2 years was negotiated ?    What will she ask for next year ?    Tech is in a desperado mode.

And likely guaranteed vs injury ?   Canady threw 230 IP last year,  vs Kavan (130) and Maxwell (155) for Texas and OU.

 

 

[BurntOrange&White 39,930]

12 minutes ago, torre said:

The contract is for one year and $1,050,024

 

Wonder if 1 year vs 2 years was negotiated ?    What will she ask for next year ?    Tech is in a desperado mode.

And likely guaranteed vs injury ?   Canady threw 230 IP last year,  vs Kavan (130) and Maxwell (155) for Texas and OU.

 

 

We should start passing the hat around for her final year

[ClubWhatever 12,120]

IRS gets what, 40%?

[Js1 85,275]

45 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

We should start passing the hat around for her final year

But on the flip side, JR Kavan, SO Salmon and FR Hannah Wells are our 3 best pitchers in 2026. With SR Gutierrez as well. 

[Funk Doctor Spock 12,177]

What an absolute fail on Candy's part. She could have gone anywhere and she goes to a mediocre at best program that's going nowhere. 

Have fun in Lubbutt, loser. 

[idigTexas 2,284]

15 minutes ago, Spider2YBanana said:

What an absolute fail on Candy's part. She could have gone anywhere and she goes to a mediocre at best program that's going nowhere. 

Have fun in Lubbutt, loser. 

Wouldn't you spend a year in Lubbock for $1 mil?  I would.  

[Funk Doctor Spock 12,177]

1 minute ago, idigTexas said:

Wouldn't you spend a year in Lubbock for $1 mil?  I would.  

All that $1m for me would go to the strip clubs lol. But man, of all the places she could have gone (Texas) she chose a shit show. But at least she's getting paid handsomely for having to endure that place. 

[perfectchaos007 6,625]

I can sit here and pretend that I wouldn't live in Lubbock for a million dollars, but for a million dollars I would seriously consider living in Pyongyang for a year.

[Cairn Horn88 8,260]

Go on…take the money and run…

[dcar00 14,153]

softball is interesting in that it is probably the only sport in the NCAA where one player can likely guarantee you a final four type shot at a championship.  Women's basketball might be next but still isn't close to softball because the pitcher can play almost every game.

Tech just has to make the tournament and pitch Canady every game.  even in basketball you can work to take away a player.

I'm not advocating for it but softball might be more interesting if there was a series/weekend pitch count or NCAA pitch count.  

 

[bschoolprof 6,252]

I'm calling bullshit on Tech at 6.  

[Js1 85,275]

8 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

I'm calling bullshit on Tech at 6.  

OU isn’t 2nd either lol

[Machinator 32,099]

 

[Pato del Muerto 52,485]

Sec sec sec