The Texas Tech Red Raiders are tied for the most wins in the country as we get set to watch the 2026 NCAA softball tournament. The Red Raiders have been incredibly dominant. And yet, I still find myself having a few questions about how the Texas Tech softball team will perform in the NCAA softball tournament. Â
Clearly, the Red Raiders have been pretty successful this season. But if they’re going to make it all the way back to Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series championship series, then Texas Tech can’t afford to stumble down the stretch.Â
No pressure or anything.Â
But if we look at how things have played out lately, the Red Raiders haven’t been as sharp in recent games the way they were early on in the season. To be completely frank, it wasn’t great how many errors were present in that Big 12 tournament championship game loss to Arizona State. And also it wasn’t great that Texas Tech got shutout in that championship matchup against the Sun Devils. Heck, just simply losing a high-scoring Friday matchup against the Baylor Bears was less than ideal.
So, as Texas Tech gets set for the 2026 Lubbock Regional, I have a handful of questions.
How will Gerry Glasco and the Red Raiders split the postseason pitching workload between NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry?
The Red Raiders have a wealth of talent all over their roster, but the fact that both NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry are able to take over in the circle for the Texas Tech softball team is a very, very encouraging thing about the Red Raiders’ prospects.Â
First and foremost, it’s a great thing that the Red Raiders haven’t had to just exclusively rely upon Canady and have allowed her to get some rest strategically throughout the season. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Canady has managed to throw in 146.1 innings while Terry has rounded things out with 118.1 innings pitched. Despite that difference in innings pitched, there’s not much of a difference between them.
Canady has a 1.24 ERA while Terry has a 1.30 ERA. Canady has 12 complete games on the season. Terry has 13. Canady has struck out 209 opposing batters while Terry has struck 144 strikeouts so far this season. Opposing batters have a .143 batting average against Canady and a .167 batting average against Terry.
Oh, and then there’s Samantha Lincoln with a 2.71 ERA, four complete games, and 58 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched to really help balance the Red Raiders pitching staff.Â
In the regional’s double-elimination format, Texas Tech will have to play a handful of games in just three days. Having a deep pitching staff should help alleviate the burden on the Red Raiders and put them in a great position to get to the Super Regional.Â
Will the Ole Miss Rebels be riding momentum from the SEC Tournament into the 2026 Lubbock Regional?
Okay look, normally I wouldn’t be too worried about a team that went 6-18 in conference play and 34-24 overall, but the Ole Miss Rebels intrigue me right now in a way that I don’t love. Ole Miss managed to go out and beat both the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Tennessee Lady Vols during the SEC Tournament and also took a series from a really solid Mississippi State Bulldogs team at the end of the regular season.
The Rebels are 9-10 in away games, but have also managed to put together a 10-4 record in games at neutral site contests, which is an interesting split for their overall record.Â
Madi George has managed to be a legitimate power threat at the plate for Ole Miss with a .385 batting average, 21 home runs on the season, and 58 RBI. Then there’s Emilee Boyer, who has a 12-13 win-loss record and a 3.68 ERA but has also struck out 145 batters while playing in the SEC this season.Â
I don’t think the Rebels are the best team in the world, but I think they might be a bit sneaky and shouldn’t be overlooked.Â
Will the Red Raiders be able to sustain a .388 batting average in the postseason against solid pitching?
Full transparency here, I want Texas Tech to have an absurdly great batting average and they do. They absolutely do. Right now, the Red Raiders have the second-best batting average in the country and have managed to put together nine hitters who have batting averages of at least .320 so far this season.Â
But Texas Tech has also managed to get shutout by the Arizona Wildcats, Utah Utes, Texas State Bobcats, and now the Arizona State Sun Devils. Against Big 12 teams, Texas Tech’s batting average drops from .388 overall on the season down to .355 (which is still really good, for what that’s worth). In the postseason (which, so far, is just the Big 12 tournament), Texas Tech’s batting average is sitting at .342 (which is still really good, but is showing a concerning trend).
How will the Red Raiders do as they continue to face some of the best pitchers in the country as we continue into the postseason? Will Texas Tech be able to still consistently get hits without issues? Or will this be an issue?
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