If you follow sports in North Carolina, and particularly around Chapel Hill, you know the Maye family well. Rooted in (mostly!) Carolina Blue, the Maye legacy at UNC is still going strong. But those roots come right back here to Huntersville!
Any true Carolina fan knows the Maye boys are Huntersville natives, and you’ll find local pride in their accomplishments is contagious! The Maye athletic family tree technically kicked off with grandfather Jerry Maye, a baseball pitcher for Catawba College back in the day, who set his own share of school records. Then came dad Mark Maye, who arrived in Chapel Hill from Independence High School in Charlotte in the mid-1980s, and was a two-year starting quarterback at UNC from 1986-1987. Mark graduated from UNC, and later worked as a graduate assistant for the school’s next head coach, Mack Brown, still a well-known name in the Maye household! It should also be noted that Mark was a three-sport athlete in high school, so the fact that his sons have also excelled at all three is no surprise.
Fast forward to the offspring: Luke Maye was a member of the UNC basketball 2017 National Championship team, hitting the game-winning shot against Kentucky to send UNC to the Final Four in 2017, and on to a national championship. Cole Maye pitched for the 2017 National Championship baseball team at the University of Florida, and Beau Maye is currently a member of the 2022-2023 UNC basketball team. Luke, Cole, and Beau all graduated from Hough High School in Cornelius, while youngest son, Drake Maye, a graduate of Myers Park High School in Charlotte, has just completed an incredibly successful season as UNC’s starting quarterback. He guided the Tar Heels to a nine-win season, an ACC Coastal Division Championship, and an appearance in the ACC Championship game in December, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Even in his first game as starting quarterback, Drake launched a new chapter of the family legacy, completing five touchdown passes on one Saturday in Kenan Stadium!
Watch their many interviews or follow their social media accounts, and it’s clear the Maye sons are very close, and inspire each other in different, but profound ways: work ethic, warm personalities, and a genuine care for others – also known around here as good manners! (By the way, mom Aimee Maye was also a standout basketball player at West Charlotte High School, so the family tree of competitors was strong from the beginning.)
From grandfather to father, and now lovingly instilled in this current impressive generation of Maye athletes, talent, integrity, love, and sportsmanship are in plentiful supply. And the future of their Carolina Blue connection is certainly bright!
