2025 WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

May 28, 2025

Gerry Glasco

Lauren Allred

NiJaree Canady

Mihyia Davis

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement for Coach Glasco if you have one.

GERRY GLASCO: We're extremely excited to be here, really thrilled to get to represent Texas Tech and the Big 12 in the World Series. Worked really hard. Really proud of the girls and what they have accomplished and can't wait to see them come out and play on the big stage.

Q. This is for Lauren and Mihyia. You two got close to this point a couple years ago. First, what does it mean for you to be here now in Oklahoma City? And second part is how much do you and other Louisiana players talk to Alana about that super regional series?

LAUREN ALLRED: So, it's huge being here right now because we got really close our freshman year, and being able to get over that hump this year was just amazing. And we talked to Alana quite a bit about that super regional.

MIHYIA DAVIS: Yeah, we were on Alana all the time about the super regional.

Q. NiJa, last time I saw you, you were standing right there, and you had a championship belt over your shoulder and doing interviews, talking about that Big 12 championship. And one of the things you said was you wanted to help him get back here. Now that that's a reality, can you talk about what it means to have delivered on that goal?

NIJAREE CANADY: Yeah, it feels amazing. And every time just getting to Oklahoma City is obviously really hard, so many amazing teams who haven't made it to this point. So I feel grateful to be here again.

Q. For all three of you ladies, what do you think playing here a few weeks ago and being so successful, how can you carry that over to this week and not maybe be as nervous with the stage that you're on now?

LAUREN ALLRED: I think just remembering that the game is the same, you're here playing the same way, and just sticking to our game is the biggest thing.

Obviously the environment is going to be way bigger than anything we have experienced, but we have played on the field recently so we know how it plays, and we'll use that to our advantage.

NIJAREE CANADY: Yeah, using the Big 12 tournament as a steppingstone and using what we learned there and applying it here.

MIHYIA DAVIS: Just staying calm and play your game because it's still just the game of softball.

Q. When you started to build this roster, you went looking for hitters that could back up NiJa. Talk about how they have evolved and why have they been able to be as good offensively? Have they exceeded expectations for you?

GERRY GLASCO: Yeah, I think when we started building our roster, and once we got NiJa, there were two steps. First, tracking the players where I could look NiJa in the eye and say: This roster can take us to the World Series with you in the circle.

Because even I didn't want NiJa to come to Texas Tech if I didn't believe she could go to the World Series with the team that we had, and I knew that she shouldn't come to Texas Tech.

The first step -- and she gave me about 30 days because she had a trip to Japan. That was the first step, getting the players and the roster in place. Once we did that, NiJa came on board. And we were able to make a few moves after that, I think, if I remember right.

So then we began fall, and I think it was just a matter, then, of becoming mentally tough. It's not an accident that the team is here. They worked really hard. And NiJa is a great talent, a great player, but this team is more than just NiJa Canady. It's a great team, a product of a lot of hard work.

A lot of kids have put in a lot of time, worked hard in the mornings in the weight room. They work hard in batting practice, work hard on the defense. They've honed their skills. They've really worked hard all year. And I think their hitting is just a matter of learn how to be mentally tough-minded when a moment comes and really bear down when a moment comes.

And they have learned to trust their training, to believe in each other and play for each other. That's been one of the biggest keys. We started the first couple weeks of the season, everyone is trying to play for themselves and accomplish things themselves. And if you look back the first two weeks, I think we were batting like .150.

And finally it dawned on me what was happening. Everybody was trying to do it themselves for the team, and I said: Start trying to make each other better. Don't worry about what you're doing. Don't worry if you're 0-3 or 3-3. Make sure the other eight kids are focused on their attitude and how you can make them feel better and play better, and we'll play better as a team.

From that point on, that's when we hit our stride and we got better and better with that. You see that in our scoring. Our scoring averages just went up throughout the season, our batting averages climbed throughout the season. Even as the opponents have gotten tougher, our performance has gotten tougher.

So that's how we have arrived at where we're at. A lot of it is emulating. NiJa, when she gets in the circle or steps on the diamond, she's a tough-minded competitor, a fierce competitor. And our whole team has emulated that. They learned how to compete and emulate that competitive mindset and become a bunch of tough-minded competitors. I'm proud of our entire roster and our entire team.

Q. Lauren, for you, coming back from that injury last year, you had such a great freshman year, you get hurt last year. This year, you're coming back from injury, you're also in a new home and all those kinds of things. Can you chronicle what that journey was like for you coming back from that injury to have the year you have had this year?

LAUREN ALLRED: I would say it was hard. Last year, the goal last year was to host the regional, and we got to do that. It was tough watching my team do something so well without me. So coming into this year, I knew I wanted to try to make a mark and have an impact on the team. And being able to do that and work throughout the season, I think that's the biggest reward to the injury itself.

Q. Gerry, I know you're focused on your players and Ole Miss, but I want to ask you about one of your former players, Sam Landry and her season and journey to get to the World Series.

GERRY GLASCO: Yeah, Sam is a tremendous player and talent, and also a tremendous person. On a personal level, is a sweetheart to me and my wife. She means the world to us on a personal level.

Thrilled to see her have the year she had. Going back to last summer, I was talking to her, I don't know how often, but pretty close to every day, I think, throughout the recruiting process. And when it came down to that last week, she had a visit coming up with Oklahoma.

I knew if she had the opportunity to work with Coach Rocha and Coach Gasso, that would give her the opportunity -- and I remember telling her: If you play for Coach Rocha, you will have the rest of your lifetime to look back. You know you had the chance to work with the top pitching coach in the game, and you'll know -- the results will indicate your potential.

I encouraged her to go for that. I just thought it was a good way for Sam to end her college career if she chose to go that route. And I think we're seeing that now, a great athlete with a great coaching staff, and it's been her moment. And she's rose up, and she's just really performed at a high level. And excited to see how she's handled the pressure throughout the season. And I see her growing. As I watch her on TV, I can see her growing in those pressure moments.

Q. I know you haven't played Oregon, certainly in the last several years since Missy has taken over, but can you describe whatever relationship you may or may not have with her and with the program, as obviously they've remembered Geri Ann in the last several years since. Just what is your relationship with the program and connection with them in the years since?

GERRY GLASCO: You know, when Geri Ann was at Oregon, my wife got to go to a lot of the games. I got to go to Senior Day. I got to go to the super regional. So I didn't get to go to the games on a regular basis like my wife did.

When I did, it was so exciting and through the roof. We were looking at pictures last night. Carol Bruggeman got to announce the regional, and she was showing us a picture of her sitting on the bench that they had in honor of Geri Ann. And we were talking about I want to take my team out there, I want to sit on that bench for a few minutes.

But Coach Missy has called me several times and talked to me about Geri Ann. And of course the fan base at Oregon was extremely good, extremely loud. And it was a special time in that era that she played there. I got to watch them beat North Carolina State to go to the World Series, I believe; and I got to watch them get beat by UCLA, when they were supposed to win, and not go to the World Series I think her senior year in '16.

Those were special moments for me as a father. And Senior Day I got to watch -- I believe it was Utah, and I can remember the hits. I remember where the hits went to in the park, balls going off left of the wall, single up the middle. I have pictures of her batting average on the scoreboard, and I can remember watching Mike White throw batting practice to her and the two rounds where she hit five out of five in the stands.

All that stuff is great memories for me as a father. Nothing but good memories of Oregon. I want to take my team out there before I retire and play a series out there. Day-to-day, I root for Oregon because that's her program. I get to talk to Sydney a lot. Sydney Romero I consider one of the sweetest kids that I've ever coached, one of the most talented players and one of the sweetest people I have ever coached. I talk to her a lot, and that's kind of my connection.

Q. Gerry, the dynamics of this event have changed a lot over the last 30-some-odd years. This year you have five SEC teams, a team that's never been here before, and two former Pac powers playing in a different conference. For somebody who has been in the game as many years as you have, what do you see in the shifting dynamics across the country and the kind of teams getting here now?

GERRY GLASCO: Tremendous growth. Tremendous interest in Women's College World Series. I followed now for a long time. Erin got to play here, my middle daughter, with Texas A&M in 2008. And I got to coach here in 2009 with Georgia and 2010 with Georgia. Geri Ann got to play here with Oregon in 2015, and I got to coach here in 2017. Geri Ann played in 2016 with Oregon. I got to coach here in 2017 with A&M. And now Tara is going to be a coach here this year.

So all three of my daughters have been able to participate now in the College World Series over a 10-, 12-year span. I think that's very -- that's neat for me as a father. And I'm looking forward to sharing that with Tara, and Erin will be here in the stands watching.

But the growth, when I think back to the beginning and watching the World Series start out as 6,000, 7,000, it was 9,000, and now it's 15,000. And outside the stadium, the crowds just get bigger and bigger. And when you're anywhere, at a sports bar or a restaurant, now they got the World Series on.

It's the growth in women's softball and the interest in the World Series. It's amazing how fast-pitch softball has captured America and the interest of American sports fans, especially older couples. It's a neat sport that a lot of middle-age and elderly couples watch together, and I think that's the unique thing about softball.

Q. Coach, Ole Miss for you guys tomorrow. What have you seen through footage that you guys are preparing on for Game 1 tomorrow?

GERRY GLASCO: Extremely well-coached team. When you think about what Coach Trachsel did, she added Nancy Evans as pitching coach and Ehren Earleywine to help at the offense. She added some great pieces right there. Of course, Nancy Evan's history as pitching coach out of Arizona is unequaled almost and one of the top pitching coaches ever.

Ehren Earleywine in my opinion, when I was in the SEC I thought he was just a magnificent offensive coach, all-around coach. I thought he was a tremendous coach of the game of fast-pitch softball and to see him come back in and to see what all they've done and give Coach Trachsel credit for making those hires and then given freedom to -- when you get a new staff like that, you have to let them work. You have to let them coach, and she's turned them loose and let them coach, obviously, and you got to give her a big tip of the hat. The results, they just have gotten better and better and better and they're playing with a lot of fire and they're playing with a lot of freedom they're playing with a lot of and emotion and joy. They're a dangerous ball club right now, and I see a bunch of kids that are talented, but enormously free and loose on the field.

THE MODERATOR: That'll wrap things up for Texas Tech. Thank you.