Tom Brady’s impact on the sports community in Tampa will forever be remembered as an eventful one. From two playoff appearances for him and his Buccaneers and a Super Bowl victory to add, Brady will be known as the man who may have changed the culture in Tampa.
But with Brady now retired and football season now in the past, who will be the new face of Tampa Bay Sports? Well at least for this weekend, it will be another Brady who will be the talk of the town, as redshirt sophomore outfielder, UCLA Bruin Maya Brady will be the one who will be the talk of the town this weekend here in the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational.
Maya Brady, who is Tom Brady’s and also former Red Sox World Series Champion Kevin Youkilis niece, has championship blood running through her veins, and she has been able to do throughout her young college softball career. In 75 games played as a Bruin, Maya is a hitting machine, averaging a .341 batting average, 21 homers, 66 RBIs, and 64 putouts, also showing off her highly touted fielding abilities.
Last season for Maya Brady, she was named to the Pac-12 All First Team and was a key piece to their College World Series run last season, which they would end up losing to the champions in the Finals, Oklahoma.
Maya Brady, in-game versus Northwestern, playing near Uncle Tom’s Old Home (Pics: Dylan Spaulding-Legends On Deck)
Looking into this season, she and her Bruins have a real shot at the Division 1 crown. With the 4-1 start that the Bruins have, with the wins coming in shutouts & putting up 47 unanswered in those first 4 games, this is definitely a Bruins team with some unfinished business that have a big test this weekend in Clearwater, as the Bruins will see a full weekend of power 5 programs after splitting last weekend with a win over Mississippi St. and loss over Oklahoma in the Championship rematch at the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, California. As for Maya Brady, she has left off were she started as well, already clicking with 5 hits over 12 at-bats on the year, putting up an impressive .417 average, while also being patient at the plate by getting on 4 times on Base-on Balls
With the success of the team and the championship blood and caliber that Maya Brady brings to the table, the “Brady” mindset will continue just a bit longer in the Bay, even if it only lasts through Sunday night, but I will finish out by saying this though, the Bay area, even if it’s just this weekend, is “Brady’s World” and we are just living it, whether it be Tom or Maya.
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