You can imagine that Maya Brady has gotten the questions countless times during her softball career.
What's it like being the niece of Tom Brady? Or, what about the niece of former Red Sox World Series champion Kevin Youkilis?
Still, you can see her light up in her response. She doesn't seem like she ever tires of talking about her talented uncles.
"You can learn so much by just watching them, watching both of their careers," Brady, who was activated from the AUSL injured list and will make her pro debut for the first-place Talons on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2, recently told me. "Kevin didn't marry into our family until a little later into his career so I didn't get to be a part of that as much, but definitely still watched him in the later years. And then Tommy, my whole life."
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
And don't forget about her mom, Maureen, one of the greatest women's softball players of all time.
Maya's mother (Tom's sister) was an unbelievable 116-9 in high school with 29 no-hitters and 16 perfect games. She was an All-American at Fresno State, leading her squad to the WCWS twice.
But right now, for this generation, Maya is the Brady star.
She was one of the best players in UCLA history during her time as a Bruin from 2020-24. She ranks second in school history in home runs (71), RBIs (246), total bases (550) and slugging percentage (.757). She was one of only five players in UCLA's record books to win back-to-back Pac-12 Player of the Year awards. The shortstop hits tanks wherever and whenever she feels like it:
She played professionally in Japan after college and, this past winter, was selected fifth overall in the inaugural, groundbreaking Athletes Unlimited Softball League Draft. Her Talons have dominated the competition even without her in the lineup, already clinching a spot in the championship during the weekend of July 26.
"It's honestly just a dream come true," Brady said. "Growing up, I never thought there'd be anything like this and it's such an amazing opportunity."
And now, funny enough, the close family members she grew up rooting for are the ones standing on the sidelines cheering her on.
"It's cool for my mom to see something like this," Brady laughed. "When she was playing in like the World Series, nobody would come and the fences are like chain-link fences. It's just cool for her to see us go through this process and get to the point where we can have a super-successful established league."
Her uncle Tom's cheerleading, though, has been even more apparent.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner once called her his family's greatest athlete. He's excited to watch her "rake" in the AUSL and he's even been spotted fanboying out at some of her college games in the past.
"It's really great to have these mentors in my life," Brady said. "For free!"
Brady says her super-athletic relatives have taught her about commitment, dedication and "working hard no matter the circumstance." They've also taught her how to perfect her throwing arm at some very intense family dodgeball games.
But what about Youkilis? The man who married into the royal sports family through Tom's other sister, Julie. Did he ever teach her his absurdly unconventional batting stance?
"I'm not talented enough for that," the 24-year-old laughed. "I don't even know how he did that. A very, very unique stance."
Judging by her success thus far, she should be just fine without it.