OKLAHOMA CITY — Late Thursday night at Devon Park, as UCLA and Oregon were wrapping up their game in the Women’s College World Series, the public address announcer revealed the overall attendance number for the second session of the day.
Hearing the number caused several reporters in the press box to say aloud, “Can that be right?” Especially when looking at the sea of empty bleachers in the outfield as the Bruins and Ducks played into Friday morning, it was fair to wonder the veracity of the figure.
By the venue’s own count, Thursday’s second session had 12,288 fans walk through the gates and fill the stands. Why is that significant? Because of the teams involved in each.
The first session featured the reigning four-time national champion Oklahoma Sooners, whose home of Norman is located 20 minutes south of OKC along with fellow Southeastern Conference powers Texas, Florida and Tennessee.
The hometown Sooners and the rough and tough collective of the Longhorns, Volunteers and Gators only got 11,805 fans in the stands for the afternoon games. So with the sparse late-night crowd, it’s safe to say folks turned out in droves to see NiJaree Canady sporting her new shade of red with the Texas Tech softball team.
The strong attendance for Texas Tech’s first-ever WCWS game continues the trend that most pleases head coach Gerry Glasco. Not only has the gamble paid off with Canady, who is as good as ever in the circle in addition to her new duties as a hitter, but fans have started to gravitate more and more toward the new kids on the block.
“We want to build a culture that’s not just one time,” Glasco said Friday. “We want to build a culture and a program that we can have a rabid fan base for women’s softball. … And last night was the indication that Texas Tech fans have really taken to the program and fallen in love with the girls and the way they play. And I’m just so thrilled and so appreciative to have that support for our players. Means everything to those girls.”
That includes the past Red Raiders who have turned up in Oklahoma City to see the new era of Tech softball in action. While this year’s team has broken just about every record imaginable, the past players and their achievements can’t be forgotten. Glasco certainly appreciates their eagerness to be part of it all.
“That’s so cool,” Glasco said, “because those girls are part of building the history of our program and you know the adversities and the fight and the never giving up and the determination, that’s what’s making our program great.
Glasco said several text him before and after each game to offer words of encouragement to the coach.
“… We want all of our alumni and former players,” Glasco continued, “to know we want them involved in our program.”
Oklahoma is the standard bearer of college softball, no question. It may takes years, or decades, for someone else to come along and knock the Sooners off their perch. But who says it can’t be Texas Tech?
Generational talents like Canady don’t grow on trees. She won’t be a Red Raider forever, but Canady has already started talking about what this year means for her and her teammates going into 2026. Everything happening now is just the first, and Glasco has no intention of letting 2025 be the crowning achievement of what the program does.
But that doesn’t mean the Red Raiders aren’t thinking big. There’s no “happy to be here” from Texas Tech players and coaches. They are, though that’s only part of the story.
“We want want to win a World Series,” Glasco said after Tech’s 1-0 win over Ole Miss to open the WCWS. “We don’t want to just show up. We want to come back. If we don’t win it this year, we want to win it next year. And we want to learn everything we can learn this year and learn how to win.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: How high can Texas Tech softball climb in Women’s College World Series debut?
