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Top-tier athletes run in the Brady family as the legendary NFL quarterback’s niece accomplished a feat her uncle never did — going No. 1 in a professional sports draft.
Maya Brady was selected No. 1 overall in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s expansion and allocation drafts on Monday. The Oklahoma City Spark selected the former UCLA Bruins star shortstop. Brady’s mother is Maureen Brady, sister of Tom Brady. Her mother was also a star softball player for the Fresno State Bulldogs.
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UCLA’s Maya Brady (7) hits during an NCAA softball game against Grand Canyon on May 19, 2023 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, file)
Brady was a superstar when she was with the Bruins. She was a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year Award, two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalist and three-time First Team National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-American.
She finished her collegiate career in 2024 tied for second and program all-time in home runs (71), RBI (246) and slugging percentage (.757).
Being in the Brady family can come with a certain amount of pressure, but in an interview with The Athletic, she suggested she understood that pressure makes diamonds.
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UCLA shortstop Maya Brady (7) reacts during an NCAA softball game against Washington on March 17, 2023 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, file)
“For me, knowing that my family is very successful, I think it puts a very good pressure on me,” she said in 2021. “It’s not a pressure like … I’m going to put shame on the Brady family name. It’s just good pressure. I love carrying the last name. I’m just really proud of it.”
Cascade took former Oklahoma Sooners pitcher Sam Landry No. 2 and then followed up with former Oklahoma State Cowgirls pitcher Kelly Maxwell as the top pick in the allocation draft.
Former Sooner slugger Jocelyn Alo went to the Bandits at No. 10 in the allocation draft.
Oklahoma’s Sam Landry (21) throws a pitch during the Women’s College World Series softball game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oregon Ducks at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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The AUSL was founded in 2024. The Talons defeated the Bandits in the 2025 championship earlier this year. The league has a total of six teams.
