Texas Tech superstar NiJaree Canady has had plenty of shining moments throughout her college career, but the glimmer of a golden ticket marked the start of her next chapter.
Canady was presented the first 2026 Athletes Unlimited Softball League golden ticket, signifying her selection in this year’s AUSL College Draft. Commissioner Kim Ng surprised Canady and fans at Rocky Johnson Field on Friday night after the team’s Big 12 matchup against Iowa State.
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
After the game, Ng stepped out onto the field and directed fans to the video board.
Canady’s golden ticket is the start of moments that will happen across the country over the next month. AUSL representatives and softball celebrities will visit college campuses to award golden tickets to this year’s college draft class. The draft order and which team’s draftees were selected by will be revealed at the AUSL College Draft Show on May 4, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
“As one of the most talented players in the game today, it is fitting that NiJaree is the first recipient of a golden ticket this year,” Ng said. “This is also the beginning of what will be a truly special draft class, with many outstanding players across the country. The golden ticket represents an important milestone as we recognize players who have been selected in the draft and will have the opportunity to continue their careers at the professional level in the AUSL once their college careers are complete.”
While part of the excitement around the golden tickets is the surprise factor, it should come as no shock that Canady was honored with one. She is one of the most decorated and visible athletes in collegiate softball right now: a multiple-time first-team All-American, 2024 USA Softball Collegiate player of the Year, D1Softball National Pitcher of the Year (2025), and a two-time Honda Sport Award winner for Softball (2024, 2025).
This isn’t the first time she’s a “first” either. The former Stanford ace transferred to Texas Tech, where she signed a record-breaking $1,050,024 one-year contract through The Matador Club, an NIL collective affiliated with the university. She signed another seven-figure deal last year, after leading the team to its first-ever Women’s College World Series championship appearance in 2025.
Most recently, Canady made history again in February when she launched her Adidas signature player-edition cleat, the ADIZERO Instinct 2.0 PT “NiJa,” making her the first college softball player to release a signature player-edition cleat in partnership with Adidas.