PREVIEW: Texas Faces Off Against Stanford In WCWS

Two Player of the Year finalists will be facing each other in the first game of the Women's College World Series between Texas and Stanford.

Texas Longhorns infielder Mia Scott (10) throws the ball to first during the NCAA Super Regional opener against Texas A&M at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Friday, May 24, 2024 in Austin. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman /

If the Texas Longhorns have a variety of pitching talent in its roster, Stanford has all the talent incorporated into starting pitcher NiJaree Canady.

With a total of 310 strikeouts, including a season-high of 18 against conference rivals Georgia, Canady earned the titles of Softball America Pitcher of the Year and USA Player of the Year, defeating Texas’ Reese Atwood in the ladder.

But first-seeded Texas doesn’t lack the talent to fight back. Catcher Reese Atwood set single-season program records with 23 home runs, 160 total bases, and 90 RBIs.

In addition to Atwood, Mia Scott, named a Softball America second-team All-American, had a total of 52 RBIs and 10 home runs in the season. Freshmen Kayden Henry and All-American Katie Stewart are some young faces who have set their mark in the postseason and can cause trouble for Canady. In the last two opening games of the WCWS for Texas, a freshman has recorded a multi-hit game -- one of them being Scott.

Eight of the current stars have hit home runs in the so far six 2023-24 NCAA Tournament games.

Seven athletes in the current Texas roster were part of the 2022 team that advanced to the national championship finals, including Scott. Senior pitcher Estelle Czech is the only active Longhorn to be credited with an in-circle win in a WCWS game, holding a 2-1 record across 17.1 innings and four matches.

Canady's Stanford led in home runs by Aly Kaneshiro with 11, has secured a 48-15 overall record, 17-7 conference.

The game is set to start at 6 p.m. CT in Oklahoma City and can be watched on ESPN2.