Brooklynn Maxwell
photo by UNCG Athletics
UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball recent graduate
Brooklynn Maxwell has signed a professional contract with the Chattanooga Steam.
This will be the second softball alumnae that has signed a professional contract. Lindsay Thomas was the first back in July 2023, she signed with the Texas Smoke, which is part of the Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) League."I'm super honored and excited to get this type of opportunity," remarked Maxwell.
"UNCG, my coaches, the department, and all my teammates have been such a great support into building me as a better softball player and person in general. I couldn't have asked for a better place to spend four years and spend it with the best people!"
Maxwell had a very successful four years in the Blue & Gold starting in 214 games of the 215 games she played and tallied a .323 batting average, a .404 on-base percentage, and a .540 slugging percentage. Of her 212 hits in her four years, 38 were doubles, nine were triples, and 29 were home runs. She crossed the plate 162 times totaling 355 total bases and added in 88 walks with 103 RBI.
"The Steam definitely gained an outstanding player!" stated Head Coach
Janelle Breneman. "Brooklynn is our second UNCG Spartan player to play pro ball. I am thrilled she can continue to play this summer before she begins graduate school. I am extremely proud of her development as a player and as a person."
Maxwell had career-best numbers this season in 12 categories, including batting average (.383), on-base percentage (.481), slugging percentage (.756), at bats (193), runs (55), hits (74), doubles (14), triples (5), total bases (146), home runs (16), RBI (41), and stolen bases (13).
Among the nation, Maxwell concluded the 2024 season 12
th in total bases (146), 28
th in triples (5) and hits (74), 40
th in home runs (16), 44
th in slugging percentage (0.756), 47
th in runs per game (0.93), 61
st in triples per game (0.08), 62
nd in home runs (0.27), and 69
th in on-base percentage (.481).The Virginia Beach, Virginia native was voted to the 2024 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Mideast Region third team for the first time. Prior to that she was named the 2024 Southern Conference (SoCon) Player of the Year and selected to the SoCon All-Conference first team. Maxwell was the sixth Spartan to be named SoCon Player of the Year and first since 2014 when Katelyn Bedwell earned the honor. This was also the 11
th-straight season that one or more Spartans have been named to the All-SoCon first team.
This year, Maxwell was recognized as the SoCon Player of the Month in both February and March. In addition, on March 11, she was recognized as SoCon Player of the Week. At the start of the 2024 season, Maxwell was voted to the Preseason All-SoCon first team.
In 2023, Maxwell was named to the All-SoCon first team and in 2022 she was voted to the Preseason All-SoCon second team. Maxwell helped the Spartans win the 2021 and 2023 SoCon Tournament Tttles giving the squad automatic bids to the 2021 and 2023 NCAA Tournaments, as well as three-straight SoCon Regular Season titles in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Connect Sports, owned and operated by Jill and Jeremy Higdon, announced the creation of a new professional fastpitch team in October 2023. The Chattanooga Steam is coached by Head Coach Marty McDaniel, and Assistant Coach Brandon Carr, along with General Manager Donald Pickett. The 2024 schedule for the Steam includes a four-day tournament from June 19-22 called the Scenic City Cup.