Three Thoughts on Big 12 Softball Tournament Semifinals

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The Big 12 softball tournament won’t get the showdown it was hoping for between the league’s co-pitchers of the year.

While No. 1 seed Texas Tech did its job in the semifinals, the No. 2 seed Oklahoma State Cowgirls were upended by the No. 6 seeded Arizona State Sun Devils. Meanwhile, OSU’s coach was putting the Big 12 on blast for that co-pitcher of the year honor.

Here are three thoughts on the semifinals.

The Gift of Depth

Texas Tech made a big splash in signing NiJaree Canady for the 2025 season. But in an effort to not overwork their superstar, the Red Raiders made just as notable a signing in the transfer portal before the 2026 season. That was Kaitlyn Terry.

The former UCLA star has been the perfect complement to Canady. She’s a pitcher and utility player who before arriving in Lubbock went 41-8 in the circle for the Bruins over two seasons. She was a .252 batter with two home runs.

Texas Tech turned to her in Friday’s semifinals and she was brilliant. She overwhelmed the No. 5 seeded Kansas Jayhawks in a game called after five innings per run-rule as Tech won, 14-0. Terry threw a complete game shutout, allowing two hits with nine strikeouts and one walk. She also batted, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

She’s been a standout all season for Tech. Entering the tournament she was 21-1 with a 1.37 ERA with 134 strikeouts and 25 walks. At the plate is where she’s taken a huge jump. She was batting .473 with 10 home runs and 51 RBI.

With two pitchers like this — and one that his having a career offensive season — the Red Raiders have been hard to beat all season. It’s why they were able to put the Jayhawks away in five innings on Friday.

Sun Devils Shine

Oklahoma State and Arizona State had a one-hour weather delay before they started the second semifinal game. In one inning, the Sun Devils shook up the bracket.

They did something that many thought was unthinkable — the Sun Devils chased Cowgirls starter Ruby Meylan from the game in the second inning. ASU scored six runs and forced a pitching change. Then, just as OSU thought it might have a chance to get back in it, the Sun Devils hit a pair of two-run home runs in the fifth to put the game on ice. The final was 11-7 but it wasn’t that close.

The Sun Devils defused Meylan — who hadn’t lost a decision in nearly two months — by creating traffic on the bases and then icing the game with the long ball. ASU’s Brooklyn Ulrich was impossible to deal with, as she went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. Tanya Windle also drove in three runs.

So, the Sun Devils have beaten the No. 3 and the No. 2 seeds. All that’s left is to beat No. 1. The Sun Devils are a 40-win team and nationally ranked for a reason.

OSU Coach Puts Big 12 on Blast

It happened late on Thursday, but Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski put the Big 12 on blast for making his pitcher, Ruby Meylan, and Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canady, co-pitcher of the year in the conference.

His unhappiness stemmed from not the fact that the pair shared the award but that he received an e-mail on Tuesday, before the team came out, that said Meylan was the pitcher of the year. There was no “co” attached to it. Later that evening, he received an e-mail from the Big 12 through his SID that it was now a “co” award. He has issues with that and the explanation he received from the Big 12 when he asked about it.

“I got an answer and they said ‘They looked at it holistically,” Gajewski said, without noting who in the Big 12 office he spoke to. “You’re going to have to explain to everybody out there what that means because holistically wasn’t on my voting sheet.”

The Big 12 didn’t release a statement about Gajewski’s comments. For the record, he said he voted for Canady because he can’t vote for his own player. The Tulsa World’s Eric Bailey reached out to the league via e-mail for comment.