Maya Brady is set to make her pro debut. The Talons’ utility player was reinstated from the Injured List on Wednesday and will be available to play in the team’s four-game series beginning today. It will be Brady’s first appearance of the year; she had been on the Injured List since the start of the season due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain she suffered in early April.
Watching from the sidelines throughout the start of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League has been a first for Brady. Up until now, her softball career has been injury-free. She played in 249 career games at UCLA and was a starter for the Bruins since her freshman year in 2020.
Before joining the Talons, she went overseas to compete with the Toyota Medics in the Japan Diamond League. She reported in March, but during a scrimmage, Brady was running to first base when she heard something.
“It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced,” Brady described. “It just sounded almost like a paper shredder… like tearing a piece of paper.”
Once she reached first base, she was unable to pick up her leg and experienced a pain that wasn’t subsiding. She thought the timeline to return would be short – only four to six weeks – but strained it again sprinting in the outfield. This time, an MRI showed bleeding in her tendon.
“It’s just kind of playing this waiting game with soft tissue,” she said.
Her recovery started with rest, then shifted to lengthening and strengthening the muscles.
Brady’s return has been gradual. She’s had support and guidance from her trainer in Los Angeles, USA Softball Head Athletic Trainer Linda “Dee” Mahoney, and Talons Head Athletic Trainer Esi Atinkah. She started hitting off the tee and front toss at the end of May, then began hitting off live pitching in mid-June while the Talons were in Wichita.
“I think it brings you a different appreciation, and it gives you things to work on,” Brady said. “Whether you’re a star or you’re on the bench, being a good teammate is key. And I try to be that all the time. But I think now being on the sideline and not being able to contribute my skill has been just a really cool experience to just have a bigger appreciation for the game, whether it’s cheering in the dugout or helping with gear.”
While she’d much prefer to be on the field and has never taken four months off in her life, she’s come to see the injury as a “blessing in disguise.”
“It’s been eye-opening… It just gives you a new perspective on how you want to approach studying the game.”
Now that she’s physically healed and cleared to play, she knows the next challenge will be mental. Worries about reinjury, doubts about being the same player again, wondering “can I do this?”
Brady decided to trust the process of her recovery and not focus on outcomes, but the one thing that has always motivated her.
“I just want to compete.”
Brady and the Talons begin a four-game series vs the Blaze in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 16.
Savanna Collins is the Senior Reporter for the AUSL. You can follow her on X @savannaecollins.
