
UCLA softball’s Maya Brady is great like her famous uncle
LOS ANGELES (BVM) – UCLA shortstop Maya Brady is one of the biggest stars in the Women’s College World Series. She got on base at a .515 clip in 2024 while also slugging .844. This was enough for her to win Pac-12 Player of the Year for the second season in a row.
She has cemented herself as a Bruin legend in her five seasons in Los Angeles and is hoping to add a cherry on top with a national title this postseason.
Maya Brady was SMOOTH with it 😤 @UCLASoftball pic.twitter.com/xYNa0B0Fm2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 21, 2023
But for Brady and her family, greatness is the expectation.
Maya is the niece of legendary NFL QB Tom Brady.
Maya Brady fan club 💙 pic.twitter.com/47g8hiGQeJ
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) April 26, 2023
That obviously brings more attention to Maya when she is on the field, but she makes the most of the situation, turning it into a positive.
“Not all pressure is bad pressure,” Maya told Greg Auman of The Athletic in 2021. “For me, knowing that my family is very successful, I think it puts a lot of good pressure on me, to give myself goals, to try to be the best I can be. It’s not pressure like if I lose or I strike out, I feel like my family’s not going to talk to me, or I’m going to put shame on the Brady family name. It’s just good pressure. I love bearing the last name. I’m just really proud of it.”
Maya Brady comes up CLUTCH 💪
Bruins lead 9-7! pic.twitter.com/lrzSBVE0Cd
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 28, 2024
Maya was a hyped-up prospect out of Oaks Christian High School as she was named a PGF All-American. As a senior, she hit .558 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs. Her play transitioned seamlessly to the college level.
UCLA won it all in 2019, a year prior to Maya’s arrival, but now she would love to add one of her own.
The Bruins finished 42-10 and 17-4 in conference play this season as they head into the deepest part of the NCAA tournament. They are the No. 6 seed and matched up against Alabama on Thursday. UCLA will have to get through the Crimson Tide, Duke and Oklahoma on its side of the bracket in order to reach the championship finals.
But no matter how far Maya and her team get, she knows that she will have her uncle’s support.
“We’re very close,” Maya said. “We’re a very close family in general, but I have a really special bond with Uncle Tommy, and I’m really grateful that he’s just so supportive of me, given the thousands of things he has to do.”