Florida baseball will have an unusual connection to the upcoming Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Seatle Seahawks.
The Gator baseball program’s connection is to one of the biggest names in this year’s game, which is to the Patriots’ starting quarterback Drake Maye.
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In Maye’s second year in the league, he has helped the Patriots reach their 11th Super Bowl Sunday, and first since the ending of the famous Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. This season, Maye led New England to a 14-3 record and has thrown for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns.
However, championships are a familiar setting for Maye’s family. His older brother Cole Maye was a member of Florida baseball’s 2017 national championship team. Cole was notably the only Maye brother to not attend North Carolina.
During that national championship season, Cole Maye was a left-handed freshman out of the bullpen. He pitched in five games and totaled 3.2 innings with four strikeouts before redshirting in 2018.
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Cole Maye wasn’t the only brother to win the NCAA national championship that season. The oldest Maye brother, Luke, played basketball at North Carolina from 2015 to 2019 and was a member of the Tar Heels’ 2017 national title.
Kickoff for the Super Bowl is set for 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 8.
Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Super Bowl QB Drake Maye has family ties to Florida baseball