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Top athletes are part of the Brady family as the legendary NFL quarterback’s niece achieved a feat her uncle never did: becoming No. 1 in a professional sports draft.
Maya Brady was selected No. 1 overall in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League expansion and allocation drafts on Monday. The Oklahoma City Spark have selected the former UCLA Bruins star shortstop. Brady’s mother is Maureen Brady, Tom Brady’s sister. Her mother was also a star softball player for the Fresno State Bulldogs.
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UCLA’s Maya Brady (7) bats 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 is a two-time winner of the Pac-12 Player of the Year Award, a two-time finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and a three-time member of the Fastpitch Coaches Association National All-American First Team.
She finished her collegiate career in 2024 second, finishing all-time in the program in home runs (71), RBIs (246) and slugging percentage (.757).
Being part of the Brady family can come with a certain type of pressure, but in an interview with The Athletic, she hinted that she understands 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 lot of pressure on me,” she said in 2021. “It’s not pressure like…I’m going to bring shame to the Brady family name. It’s just good pressure. I love carrying the family name. I’m just very proud of it.”
Cascade took former Oklahoma Sooners pitcher Sam Landry No. 2, then followed that up with former Oklahoma State Cowgirls pitcher Kelly Maxwell as the first 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 NETWORK/USA TODAY 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 six teams in total.
