This is Brentt Eads of Extra Inning Softball… I’m old enough, ahem, to have covered QB GOAT (?) Tom Brady when he was in high school (you can see visual proof below!) so I know the family athletic history fairly well, especially when it comes to the softball talent in the family.
Two years ago this month, we did a story–which you can read in its entirety later in this post–where the recently retired NFL legend–said his sister, Maureen, as the “best athlete in the family.”
However, just two weeks later– on March 7, 2021–Tom “updated” the praise to call Maureen’s daughter, Maya Brady, the “most dominant athlete in the Brady family… by far!”
Here’s the proof:
Maya Brady, the most dominant athlete in the Brady family…by far! https://t.co/BUstHqAyjD
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 7, 2021
Reminder: that was two years ago and Maya has only added to her case as the “Best of the Brady Bunch” (see what I did there? Yea, I can hear the collective groans nationwide…)
Before we get to the Now part of the Then & Now, let’s go to the Then…
All the way back in October of 2018, Extra Inning Softball had the current UCLA standout as the top non-pitcher in the 2019 Extra Elite 100 as she was No. 3 overall behind pitchers Kelley Lynch (now at Washington) and Lexi Kilfoyl (Oklahoma State).
Here’s what we wrote about Maya in her Top 10 rankings bio:
3—Maya Brady, SS/OF, OC Batbusters – Stith (UCLA)
A year-ago, one of the top coaches in softball said that Maya could be in the top 2-3 in the senior class” and that prediction has proven to be accurate. Yes, she’s the niece of Tom Brady, but her softball genes come from her mother, Maureen, who played on the USA Jr. National team in 1991, was one of the top strikeout pitchers in California high school history and was an All-American player at Fresno State. Maya is an amazing athletic with great hands who can hit anything, including bad pitches and hit them out. Says one club coach: “She is freakishly talented and not just physically, she’s a great leader and is becoming a complete player in every aspect.” Maya was a 2nd Team Extra Inning Softball All-American and a 1st Team CalHiSports.com All-State player as a shortstop and helped Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, California) High reach the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Div. I playoffs. The So Cal talent batted .519 with 10 home runs, 10 doubles and stole 29 bases while scoring 51 runs and driving in 32. She also had a .971 fielding percentage and only made four errors in 31 games as she helped the Lions win 28 games and win the Marmonte League for the second time in three years. The 5-foot-10 athlete committed to the Bruins in May of 2016. She reportedly was invited but turned down the opportunity to try out for the USA Softball Jr. National team.
Also, after Maya’s senior year in 2019, she was named an Extra Inning Softball High School All-American… here’s what we wrote about her at that time:
Sr. Maya Brady, Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) CA
Maya, who is rated as the top infielder in the 2019 Extra Elite 100, capped a strong four-year career by hitting .558 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI, 36 runs scored and 12 steals. The UCLA signee was a finalist for California Ms. Softball and was a CIF-Div. I 1st Team pick as well as being named the Ventura Star Player of the Year. Her mother, Maureen, was an All-American pitcher at Fresno State.
Our own Carlos Arias, who watched Maya play in high school, had this to say about her game pre-college (and, this is an important subtext–Carlos is a HUGE Raiders fan and hates the Patriots):
“The first time (I) saw Maya Brady play for Oaks Christian High, CA, I knew that she was the most talented Brady in her family. Power, speed, flawless defense … the kid did everything amazing. Being the niece of the infamous “Tuck” QB, aka Tom Brady, would be a strike against most players, but (I) remain unbiased even though her uncle has obviously made a deal with the Devil.”
So let’s move to this week and the latest with Maya, who has helped her UCLA Bruins jump out to a 12-0 record and No. 1 ranking in this week’s Extra Inning Softball Top 25 College Rankings (compiled by our own Justin McLeod).
The So Cal native leads her team in pretty much every key offensive category including batting average (.568), slugging percentage (1.081), runs scored (19), hits (21), RBIs (15, tied for 1st), triples (1), home runs (5), steals (3), at-bats (37) and total bases (40).
It won’t be this easy this weekend to keep the unbeaten record as UCLA has six games at the prestigious Mary Nutter Classic including a pair against two other Top 5 teams in Florida (Thursday) and Oklahoma.
Still, with the amazing start to the 2023 season so far–including being named on Valentine’s Day as the Extra Inning Softball National Player of the Week—we wouldn’t be surprised to see Maya continue to lead her strong National Championship-caliber team to many more big victories.
Here’s a look back on our previous article talking about the athletic greatness that runs in the Brady family…
*****
Super Bowl Softball Tie-In: Did You Know Tom Brady Called His Big Sister Maureen, A College Softball All-American at Fresno State, the “Best Athlete in the Family?”
Originally published Feb. 5, 2021 on Extra Inning Softball
With his 10th appearance in the Super Bowl, few would argue that Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback Tom Brady is the GOAT when it comes to the QB position, having already won six titles and at age 43 could earn another one this Sunday.
As is well-documented, the California born signal-caller wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school at Serra High in San Mateo, California and was a 6th round draft pick out of Michigan when he started his legendary run with the New England Patriots.
What isn’t as well known by many is that when Brady was growing up, he was athletically in the shadow his older sister, Maureen, who set all kinds of records as a pitcher in high school and would go on to an All-American career at Fresno State, twice appearing in the NCAA National Tournament.
Check out this brief video clip where, leading up to the 2019 Super Bowl (a 13-3 Patriots win over the L.A. Rams), Tom himself admits she was “the best athlete in our family.”
"She was the best athlete in our family." Tom Brady's sister, Maureen, played softball at Fresno State. @FresnoStateSB #BigGameBound #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/VzBirU9iri
— Andrew Marden (@andrewmarden) January 30, 2019
His full quote, as printed in the YourCentralValley newspaper mentioned he how he used to go watch his sister pitch in her younger club days and then with the Bulldogs:
“She was the best athlete in our family. Great competitor. She was an all-American softball player. So much toughness.”
“I remember when I was a kid traveling around and watching them going to their games, their tournaments on the weekends, she’d pitch like six or seven games in a day. And she’d go 7-0 with two no-hitters. It was unbelievable. She’d be exhausted but she was the player that made it happen.”
“And she went on to college at Fresno State, played for a great coach in Margie Wright. And I used to go up and visit her when she was pitching for Fresno State. And watch Trent Dilfer play. They had a great football team,” Brady said.
In addition to Maureen, their sister Nancy played softball at California and youngest sister Julie, who shares the same birthday as Tom though three years older, played college soccer at St. Mary’s in California. She married another professional athlete in 2012, former MLB infielder Kevin Youkilis.
Mark Tennis, the authority on all things California high school related and the producer of CalHiSports.com, has this to say about Maureen’s outstanding prep career:
“From a high school athletics standpoint, it’s also still accurate to say that Tom would not be the greatest from his own family. His older sister, Maureen, was a dominating softball pitcher at Hillsdale High of San Mateo.”
“From 1988 to 1991, Maureen set a state record at the time with a 111-10 career record that is still among the best ever in the state. In her junior season, she went 32-1 with 10 no-hitters and six perfect games.”
Maureen would be named the State’s 1990 Junior of the Year by CalHi and would finish her outstanding career with 29 no-hitters and 14 perfect games.
“For her high school career that ended in 1991, (Maureen) Brady became the first pitcher in state history to reach 100 career wins and her total of 111 wins (10 losses) is still among the all-time best,” Mark says. “She also broke a state record with her 14 career perfect games in which the previous record of 12 was set two years earlier by the legendary Lisa Fernandez of Lakewood St. Joseph.”
Mark Tennis also tabbed Mom Maureen and her daughter Maya Brady, currently a redshirt freshman for the top-ranked UCLA Bruins, as the top mother/daughter combo in California high school history.
“Maureen’s daughter and Tom’s niece, Maya Brady, also was a big-time softball player,” adds the CalHiSports publisher, “graduating in 2019 from Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) as a finalist for Ms. Softball State Player of the Year.”
More on Maya in a minute.
In an unusual twist, Maureen’s Fresno State teams would twice lose in the national championship to UCLA and Bruins teams in 1989 and 1990 that would include Maya’s current head coach, Kelly Inouye-Perez!
All three sisters were inspirations to Tom and the family, led by parents Tom Sr. and Galynn, remain very close today and travel to as many sporting and family events as possible—be it a Super Bowl or one of Maya’s upcoming UCLA games or even a vacation together, such as the one taken in 2018 to Montana.
Check out this hilarious TMZ video which recaps a family dodgeball game where it got a bit competitive! You’ll see Maya’s impressively good arm strength and Tom even go after his mom!
Scroll down to read more about the amazing Brady family, who is as close today as they’ve ever been!
