A photo that UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez still has, one that helps explain how the Bruins landed one of their future superstars, remains highly sentimental.
A superstar has a famous uncle or two.
Maya Brady is smiling big in the photo, she is wearing UCLA gear. The entire team is smiling around her. Inouye-Perez is on the other side of the photo. Brady is off to the left in the photo.
Maya Brady fell in love with UCLA softball after they won the Women's College World Series. Brady was inspired to believe it was possible that she could play at UCLA one day, because of the freshman outfielder who looked like her.
She attended a summer softball camp at UCLA and then her travel ball coach arranged for her to take young Brady to a game and a meet-and- greet with the team. She finally had the chance to meet her role model when her mom, sister and uncle came with her.
Brady remembers being so nervous at his first UCLA game that he would smile and look at his coach.
My uncle Tommy was with me because he moved to L.A. and UCLA was right next to his house, so we wanted him to go with us to make it even more special for me.
Brady made an impression on the UCLA coaches. Inouye-Perez still talks about a play Brady made during a summer camp.
She charged it, turned it into a short hop and threw it on the run. When she came up afterwards, I remembered you. She got the biggest smile on her face when you turned that high chopper into a short hop.
Brady was more certain that UCLA was where she wanted to be after the visit. Twelve years ago, she was leading the Bruins in a tournament. UCLA plays Florida State tonight. Two of the nation's best softball programs will face off in a highly anticipated game.
Brady said he was a die-hard UCLA fan because of the admiration he had for them after the World Series win. She gave me the confidence that someone like me could play at UCLA, but I could also play college softball.
Brady was born into an athletic family and getting to UCLA was not easy. Her mom and aunt both played softball at the collegiate level. Kevin Youkilis is married to Julie, who played collegiate soccer. Sister Hannah plays volleyball.
Being in her family brings with it the weight of expectation. Brady embraced all that, and her Uncle Tommy has not been shy about lavishing her with praise, where he has called her the most dominant athlete in the Brady family.
Maya Brady, the most dominant athlete in the Brady family...by far! https://t.co/BUstHqAyjD
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 7, 2021
The way Brady and his family embraced UCLA, as well as his athletic ability, was what stood out to Inouye-Perez the most from the very beginning.
In the 1990s, Inouye-Perez played against a pitcher named Maureen Brady, who had 80 career wins and two appearances in the World Series. The two have a long history and always share a mutual respect.
Brady credits her mom with pushing her limits. While raising her two daughters as a single mom, she worked as a traveling nurse. She did everything she could to make sure Maya and Hannah had the same opportunities in sports.
Brady said that his mom constantly reminds him of how hard and unforgiving life can be.
Brady started playing soccer and softball. She wanted to pitch like her mom. She was never put in the circle by the coaches. Her mom helps her with her bat, as she developed into a terrific hitter along the way.
Brady said that he developed as a hitter with the help of his mom, who told him what she would throw him.
Brady was in seventh grade when UCLA coaches saw her play for the first time outside of a camp, and she showed more of the athletic ability and speed that make her so special. Brady committed to UCLA when she was a freshman in high school. Brady went from being a slapper at the plate to a power hitter as she developed her strength.
When she was a true freshman in 2020, she was selected the Softball America Freshman Player of the Year after leading the Bruins with seven home runs and 28 runs scored.
She was named to the first-team All-Pac-12 last year after hitting.333 and tying for the team lead with 14 home runs. One of the strongest players on the team, her next step is finding more consistency with her swing.
Brady said she went back to basics and focused on what got her to UCLA in the first place. The help of my old travel ball coach helped me a lot because I sometimes overthink what I need to work on.
Being a first-team All-American as a freshman can lead to pressing or wanting to do more. She wants to be recognized as the best player in Division I softball, and she knows that comes with it. I love watching her grow. She wants to be known as a person who can do damage at any time.
She is in a program where she will get some big games like this Sunday. The people are going to throw the ball. She is going to get more experience, and hopefully, deeper into a season will allow her to get more big moments. Athletes are better because they learn how to embrace it. You know how to approach it. You learn how to be successful.
Aaliyah Jordan, one of the best hitters for the Bruins, immediately took Brady under her wing when she arrived at UCLA. Brady grew from a shy player who did not say much into someone who now takes the lead in cracking jokes and goofing off. Jordan has tried to give advice to a big hitter.
Over the past three years, the two have grown close. Brady will be the team leader when Jordan leaves, one who has learned how to help her teammates but also help herself.
She has an amazing swing, so I don't really need to teach her much there, but I would say helping with the mental game of not riding the roller coaster of emotions and having confidence in yourself.
Every pitcher will give her their best pitch. She has the ability to stay true to herself and say, "I'm Maya Brady." She can hit any pitch, it could be five feet over her head. It could be a couple of inches off the ground. She will hit it out.
Making a name for herself as Maya Brady is important. The goal remains to get UCLA back to Oklahoma City, but she is working on NIL opportunities that will be announced over the next month.
There is a chance that a little girl will be inspired by the way she was when she saw Bates play 12 years ago. As a young girl, Bates had her own source of inspiration. Watching Watley play for UCLA made him want to be a Bruin as well.
The connection is not lost on Bates, who remembers meeting Maya Brady when she was 9 years old.
For Maya to point me out, because we had a lot of athletes come through that are African American, was pretty awesome. I can only imagine what it did for her.
There is a chance that a UCLA softball player will have a similar story 10 years from now.
Brady wants to give little girls the same vision and goals that B.B. gave him.
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