Maple doesn't take stain well. That's the problem. If you can get rid of the stain, I would go with a clear coat with some sort of UV protection to prevent yellowing from oxidation over time, a feature of maple.

Silverlined - I did a test spot with summer oak stain and it wasn't blotchy. Is there a similar stain that has more of a brown undertone than yellow?

Maple will absorb stain in some places and not others, leading to a blotchy look. You might not have noticed this on a small test area. Yellow is a natural undertone of maple. It will be hard to get away from it with anything but a dark stain or something with a purple undertone to counteract it. You can add a UV protectant to your finish to prevent the oxidation that will turn maple more yellow over time. You can also keep the wood out of sunlight, but that will only induce minor changes. The coating alone no matter how good it is will not completelyl stop the natural yellowing process.