Chiles, Brady Named Semifinalists for AAU Sullivan Award
July 12, 2023 | Softball, Gymnastics
Two-time NCAA champion and three-time World Championship medalist Jordan Chiles (gymnastics) and two-time NFCA First Team All-American Maya Brady (softball) have been selected as semifinalists for the 93rd annual AAU James E. Sullivan Award, which has been awarded annually since 1930 to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.
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Representatives from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) created the Sullivan Award with the intent to recognize contributions and achievements from amateur athletes across the country. Voting for the award is open to the public at this link. The semi-finalist round closes at 11:59 p.m. ET/8:59 p.m. PT on Wednesday, July 19. The winner will be picked among six finalists on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at the New York Athletic Club in New York City.
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Chiles had an outstanding 2023 collegiate season, winning NCAA and Pac-12 Conference titles on the uneven bars and floor exercise and totaling eight All-America honors. She also received WCGA West Region Gymnast of the Year honors and was selected the Sportswoman of the Year by College Gym News. Chiles scored five perfect 10s in 2023 to run her career total to eight โ four each on bars and floor. Also in 2023, Chiles posted the highest all-around total in the nation with a score of 39.900, and she led the UCLA squad with 40 event victories and 32 scores of 9.95 or higher, including 15 9.975s. She finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation on bars, No. 2 in the all-around, No. 3 on vault and No. 4 on floor.
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A nine-year U.S. National Team member, Chiles won team gold and vault and floor exercise silver at the 2022 World Championships, her first-ever Worlds appearance. She also helped lead the U.S. to a team silver medal at the 2020 Olympics. In the lead-up to the Olympics, she placed in the Top 3 all-around at every domestic competition in 2021, including third at the Olympic Trials and U.S. Championships and first at the Winter Cup. Chiles is currently training for the 2024 Olympics.
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Brady was one of the most dominant players in the country in 2023, being named a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist and the Pac-12 Player of the Year. The consensus First Team All-American won the Pac-12 Batting Crown with a .456 batting average in the regular season and led the conference with an .866 slugging percentage. She finished just shy of the triple crown, ranking second in the Pac-12 with 18 home runs and 59 runs batted in.
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Brady recorded UCLA's highest single-season batting average since 2015 (.488) and highest slugging percentage since 2010 (.866). Her 149 total bases were good for fourth best in the NCAA. Brady was one of just three players in the nation to hit for at least a .450 average, 50 RBI and 15 home runs. The slugger became the fourth Bruin ever and first since B.B. Bates in 2013 to record four multi-homer games in a single season.
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This offseason, Brady is competing for Team USA at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup Group Stage in Dublin, Ireland from July 11-15 alongside Bruins Megan Faraimo and Ally Carda. Brady enters her senior season in 2024 ranked third on UCLA's all-time slugging percentage list with a .741 mark.
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Representatives from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) created the Sullivan Award with the intent to recognize contributions and achievements from amateur athletes across the country. Voting for the award is open to the public at this link. The semi-finalist round closes at 11:59 p.m. ET/8:59 p.m. PT on Wednesday, July 19. The winner will be picked among six finalists on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at the New York Athletic Club in New York City.
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Chiles had an outstanding 2023 collegiate season, winning NCAA and Pac-12 Conference titles on the uneven bars and floor exercise and totaling eight All-America honors. She also received WCGA West Region Gymnast of the Year honors and was selected the Sportswoman of the Year by College Gym News. Chiles scored five perfect 10s in 2023 to run her career total to eight โ four each on bars and floor. Also in 2023, Chiles posted the highest all-around total in the nation with a score of 39.900, and she led the UCLA squad with 40 event victories and 32 scores of 9.95 or higher, including 15 9.975s. She finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation on bars, No. 2 in the all-around, No. 3 on vault and No. 4 on floor.
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A nine-year U.S. National Team member, Chiles won team gold and vault and floor exercise silver at the 2022 World Championships, her first-ever Worlds appearance. She also helped lead the U.S. to a team silver medal at the 2020 Olympics. In the lead-up to the Olympics, she placed in the Top 3 all-around at every domestic competition in 2021, including third at the Olympic Trials and U.S. Championships and first at the Winter Cup. Chiles is currently training for the 2024 Olympics.
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Brady was one of the most dominant players in the country in 2023, being named a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist and the Pac-12 Player of the Year. The consensus First Team All-American won the Pac-12 Batting Crown with a .456 batting average in the regular season and led the conference with an .866 slugging percentage. She finished just shy of the triple crown, ranking second in the Pac-12 with 18 home runs and 59 runs batted in.
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Brady recorded UCLA's highest single-season batting average since 2015 (.488) and highest slugging percentage since 2010 (.866). Her 149 total bases were good for fourth best in the NCAA. Brady was one of just three players in the nation to hit for at least a .450 average, 50 RBI and 15 home runs. The slugger became the fourth Bruin ever and first since B.B. Bates in 2013 to record four multi-homer games in a single season.
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This offseason, Brady is competing for Team USA at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup Group Stage in Dublin, Ireland from July 11-15 alongside Bruins Megan Faraimo and Ally Carda. Brady enters her senior season in 2024 ranked third on UCLA's all-time slugging percentage list with a .741 mark.
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