Former UCLA Wonder Maya Brady Selected With No.1 Pick In AUSL Draft
Women’s sports are growing by leaps and bounds and that includes the softball league. This year the inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) was launched with great success. It did so well that two more teams are going to be added to the four already in existence. One of the league highlights was the two-part AUSL draft that happened Monday night. At that event, former UCLA wonder Maya Brady was selected with the No. 1 pick in the AUSL Draft.
The two new franchises are the OKC Spark and Cascade, both of whom are creating their teams from scratch. Thanks to the Spark, because Maya was unprotected by the Talons, the Oklahoma City Spark swooped in and grabbed her up. Talons former assistant coach, Kirk Walker, now general manager for the Spark was instrumental in making it happen. His familiarity with Brady also existed at UCLA; he was on staff with the program while she was a player.
2025 AUSL Draft-Number One Draft Pick
Prior to joining the Talons, Brady was an outstanding player at UCLA. Some of her accolades include:
- Named the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2023 and ’24,
- Won the Pac-12 batting title by hitting .456 in 2023,
- A two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Finalist (2023-24),
- A three-time NFCA First Team All-American (2021, ’23, ’24),
- A four-time All-Pac-12 honoree
- The 2020 Softball America Freshman of the Year
In spite of missing the first month of the 2025 AUSL campaign because of a hamstring injury, Brady continued making waves. She reached base in her first 10 plate appearances (7-for-7, three walks). And she recorded 11 hits in 17 at-bats. Overall, she hit .500 over 22 at-bats.
She’s the kind of foundational player that a team could build around while also being the niece of 7-time Super Bowl winner, Tom Brady. More importantly, Maya is a versatile defensive player with prodigious power at the plate. But she wasn’t the only player taken by the Spark. Following the Expansion Draft, came the Allocation Draft in which they got Kinzie Hansen, Catcher, in the first round. The Allocation Draft is for players who have actively opted in to be considered for selection to an AUSL roster.
Former UCLA Wonder Maya Brady Selected With No.1 Pick In AUSL Draft
The league plans to have city-based teams in 2026. So the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts will accompanied by the OKC Spark and Cascade. So then there will be even more players, talent and action to look forward to next season.
Furthermore, Major League Baseball announced a strategic investment in the AUSL. It’s headed by Commissioner Kim Ng, a former executive for Major League Baseball. Having a headliner like Brady, and plenty of investments the sky is the limit for the AUSL!
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