All About Zach Edey's Parents, Julia and Glen Edey

Zach Edey is known as one of the tallest college basketball players, but to parents Julia and Glen Edey, he’s simply their athletic son.

Commanding the court at 7'4" and 300 pounds, the Purdue Boilermaker was born in 2002 and raised in Toronto's Leaside neighborhood, where he played baseball and hockey. Despite his height, Julia and Glen didn't push their son to pursue basketball. When Zach ultimately decided he wanted to get into the sport, though, they were right by his side.

Julia took him to tour prep schools and basketball camps around Canada and the United States (he graduated high school from IMG Academy in Florida), and she now spends part of the basketball season near Purdue, supporting her son. Glen also attends games and shows support for Zach.

"A lot of people look at their moms as kind of like their rocks in their life and I'm the same way," Zach told The Canadian Press in 2023.

Not only has Julia made Big Maple (Zach's Canada-inspired nickname) merch, she's often featured on the Jumbotron at Mackey Arena, where the Boilermakers play, and is known for her ongoing social media support of Zach.

“Honestly, of course, I’m proud of what he’s doing – it’s insane – but that’s not where the pride comes from,” she told GoldandBlack.com in 2023. "It’s how he’s doing it.”

Here's everything to know about Zach Edey’s parents, Julia and Glen Edey.

They grew up in Canada

One of five children, Julia is a first-generation Chinese Canadian, born and raised in the suburbs of Toronto. She told WISHTV.com in 2022 that she came from a “working-class household” that prided itself on the restaurant they owned and the kids getting good grades. Once she turned 12, Julia helped out at the family business on weekends.

"She knows all about hard work. She knows all about working even when no one's paying attention," Zach told CBS Sports in 2023. "My mom kind of grew up learning stuff on her own and she passed that on to me.”

Glen was also raised in Canada. He earned money as a teenager pumping gas and helped raise Zach with the same strong work ethic.

They were both athletes

Julia played baseball and was on the track team when she was younger — she told GoldandBlack.com that her claim to fame was breaking the city record in discus in 10th grade.

She started playing basketball in ninth grade, just like Zach. Her parents didn’t come to her games, Julia told WISHTV.com, not because they were unsupportive but because they thought it was “just this recreational thing I did on the side.” She tried out for the Ontario provincial basketball team when she was 17 but didn't understand the semi-pro space nor how to get the correct information, a fate she didn't want for Zach.

”I come from an immigrant family ... my mom didn't have any time to figure this out and it wasn't something at that time that they would have ever thought was something to aspire [for] in terms of a dream,” she told The Canadian Press.

Glen played baseball, much like Zach who excelled at the sport. The young athlete has said he even stayed away from basketball on purpose, telling The Athletic in 2019, “I felt like playing basketball would be pigeon-holing myself. It’s what every tall person does, so I don’t want to do it.”