![]() Jennings was the 2019-20 Gatorade player of the year in California. 2 recruit in the country in her 2019 recruiting class, was bumped to second base on her under-18 team because Tiare Jennings, currently a freshman at Oklahoma, played shortstop. The OC Batbusters were so packed that Maya, a shortstop who was the No. Instead of fretting about diminished opportunities, Maya called playing with the stars “an honor because they’re such amazing players.”īrady is using to playing on a stacked roster. With Garcia and Nickles back in Westwood this year, the competition for playing time is even tougher. Maya started in Nickles’ center-field position and hit cleanup in Garcia’s spot in the lineup, where she led the team with seven home runs and tied for first with 28 RBIs in the pandemic-shortened season. Maya arrived as an immediate replacement for Bubba Nickles and Rachel Garcia, who were training with Team USA for the Olympics last year. It’s not easy being part of the program with 13 national titles - the most for any program in the sport - but Maya fits right in among Olympians and All-Americans. Maya’s lifetime of family Olympics seemed to set her up perfectly for UCLA, where being a Bruin, just like being a Brady, is to be competitive. Even now, Maureen says, if they’re all walking together, one Brady may just take off to race to an elevator. Growing up, the family split up into two cars coming home from church, two kids and a parent per car, and raced to see which group could make it home first. Galynn is the chief instigator, a protective mother who screams at the television during football games. “You could talk about the Brady family as much as you’d like, but the one thing that is always going to be the same with Maya and her whole family is they will compete,” said Mike Stith, who coached Maya’s travel ball team.Ĭompetition is the only way the Bradys know. Nothing more than bragging rights are at risk, but to the Bradys, that’s more than enough. From a secluded lodge in Montana, the family is firing missiles at one another on a dodgeball court like it’s a nationally televised championship event. Things are friendly until one team starts winning. Put enough Bradys in a room together with a ball, inevitably a young cousin suggests playing a game. A familiar storyline plays out every time. The close-knit Brady family lives all over the country but tries to unite once a year for a family vacation. Even with Maya in Westwood, Maureen is still hitting the road for Hannah, a volleyball player. The family of three snaked through Southern California together while chauffeuring Maya to travel ball practice in Orange County. Maureen raised Maya and her younger sister Hannah, 13, as a single mother working as a nurse. Her mom is her best friend, the epitome of a strong, independent woman. But it seems right that she picked the sport her mother played.Īll the attention that her uncle gets outshines the relationship most dear to Maya. She was a soccer star and Tom claims she can drive a ball on the golf course 300 yards. Considering her genetic embarrassment of riches, it’s no surprise Maya starred in several sports growing up. Maureen signed Maya up for softball around 4 years old. The scrappy right-hander led the Bulldogs to the Women’s College World Series in 19. Maureen ranks ninth in Fresno State history with 80 wins. Nancy Brady also starred in softball and Maureen was an All-American pitcher at Fresno State. The former Red Sox infielder is married to Julie Brady, the youngest of the Brady sisters and a former soccer player at St. The elite group includes a seven-time Super Bowl champion and two-time World Series champion Kevin Youkilis. She doesn’t feel pressure to perform to keep up the family name, although she has no problem doing it. The first grandchild of Galynn and Tom Brady Sr., Maya is the oldest of many young Bradys entering into the sports realm who will inevitably feel the shadow of her famous uncle. She didn’t realize how big of a deal it was until high school, when she won the starting shortstop job at Oaks Christian as a freshman.Īrticles written about her achievements featured headlines that opened with “Tom Brady’s niece Maya Brady.” Her relationship to the NFL star always came before her own name. ![]() Parents made the connection and teammates asked questions. Maya’s uncle has been a topic of whispered conversations since she was about 10. ![]() “She’s the future of UCLA softball,” Inouye-Perez said. When the redshirt freshman came to UCLA as one of the top recruits in her class, Brady told UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez of her simple goal in Westwood: I want people to know who I am. Maya is not just “Tom Brady’s niece.” Try calling her Softball America freshman of the year, UCLA’s power-hitting left-hander or a do-it-all defensive spark plug. Brady has embraced her famous last name and is starting to cast her own shadow alongside her famous uncle.
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