Drake Maye became a name to know in 2022 with a massive breakout season at North Carolina. Many in the Tar Heel state have already been more than familiar with the Maye name.
In his redshirt freshman campaign, during which he ascended to the starting role, Maye completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions, rushing 184 times for 698 yards and seven touchdowns. The season has vaulted him into consideration as a potential top 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft before he starts what is all but certain to be his final year in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heel redshirt sophomore has a high-profile season-opening clash on Saturday, when the No. 21 Tar Heels open the season against South Carolina in a rivalry clash in his hometown of Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium.
Maye will be in the spotlight all season, but he's far from the first in his family to be a big name in the sports world. His family is loaded with athletes that have made their mark on the collegiate athletics world, though Maye appears set to be the biggest of them all if he continues his rise to Heisman Trophy and top draft pick consideration.
MORE: Drake Maye flourishing as he carries on family tradition at North Carolina
Who else is in Maye's family? Here's what you need to know about his famous athletic relatives.
Is Drake Maye related to Luke Maye?
Luke Maye was a standout threat on the basketball court for years in Chapel Hill. He might now be getting upstaged by his younger brother on the gridiron.
Drake Maye is, indeed, the younger brother of former Tar Heel forward Luke Maye. Drake Maye is the youngest of four brothers, all of whom have gone on to play Division I collegiate athletics.
"[Drake] was always an athlete," Luke Maye told SN in 2022. "He was always a person who dominated his age group and he played up quite a bit. We definitely toughened him up a bit, but I'm just so proud of him. I just love him to death."
In the long history of North Carolina basketball, few have had the career Luke Maye had. The 6-8, 240-pound forward saw limited action as a freshman and steady time as a sophomore coming off the bench, a campaign during which he won a 2017 national championship.
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Luke Maye really exploded onto the scene as a junior. He averaged 16.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals, earning a first-team All-ACC and being named a third-team All-American by both the Associated Press and Sporting News. That campaign earned him the ACC Most Improved Player.
Though he declared for the NBA draft, Luke Maye wound up returning to Chapel Hill, and he was just as dangerous as a senior. He averaged 14.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.6 blocks as he again was a force on the court for North Carolina. He was named a second-team All-ACC for the season.
Luke Maye briefly played for the G League team of the Bucks in 2019 and 2020, but has since taken his basketball skills to Europe, where he is currently with Tofas in the Basketbol Super Ligi in Turkey.
Drake Maye family
The entire Maye family is loaded with standout athletes, and in particular has been a fixture in North Carolina. It all started with dad.
Mark Maye
Mark Maye has been watching his sons on the field and court for several years now. But it wasn't that long ago that he was a standout on the field in his own right.
Nearly 20 years before Drake Maye was taking snaps in Chapel Hill, Mark Maye was leading the Tar Heel offense. Mark Maye saw limited action in 1984, and eventually took over as the starter at quarterback in 1986.
That first season, Mark Maye completed 110 of 176 passes for 1,401 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed 57 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns. That North Carolina team went 7-4-1 and ranked 36th among FBS teams in averaging 25.4 points per game. The Tar Heels reached the 1986 Aloha Bowl, but lost 30-21 to No. 16 Arizona.
Mark Maye returned as the starter a year later, but had a down year on the field, completing just 143 of 270 passes for 1,965 yards with nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions. North Carolina went 5-6 as the offense averaged just 19.5 points per game, 76th in the nation.
Following his career, Mark Maye wound up briefly with the Buccaneers in the NFL before he came back to North Carolina to work as a graduate assistant while earning his MBA. His graduate assistant tenure was under Mack Brown, who is back as North Carolina's head coach.
"I got to see first-hand what a great person [Brown] is and how he cares about all people and obviously his players," Mark Maye said. "There's nobody better than Coach Brown at getting along with people and handling people."
Cole Maye
Football is the big sport in the Maye family. Basketball was huge for Luke. But Cole Maye's sport of choice was baseball.
Cole Maye was a standout pitcher in high school, and wound up getting the chance to pitch for Florida. He appeared in five games as a freshman in 2017, pitching to a 12.27 ERA across 3.2 innings of work with four strikeouts and three walks. That Florida team wound up winning the 2017 College World Series.
That wound up being the extent of Maye's collegiate baseball career. He redshirted as a sophomore and did not appear in another game for the Gators. He pitched in the summer league for the Charlottesville TomSox in the 2017 Valley League, pitching to a 2.45 ERA in 14.2 innings of work.
Beau Maye
Luke Maye isn't the only Tar Heel basketball player. Beau Maye is heading into his junior season with the Tar Heel basketball team after arriving from William Amos Hough in 2020.
Beau Maye has seen limited playing time in North Carolina to date, appearing in just a pair of games and averaging a minute and a rebound per game. It has taken a lot for Beau Maye to reach the collegiate basketball ranks, as he has dealt with nine knee surgeries. Twice while in high school, he was a team captain.
