Kalen DeBoer is busy tackling the quarterback dilemma in the Tuscaloosa camp. He knows the pressure is on him to succeed in his second year. “He’s in place at a place that is expected to win, and not just win, but win big and win at the highest level of college football,” Joel Klatt summed it up. This high bar isn’t just because it’s Alabama; it’s also because of DeBoer’s impressive 25-3 record during his two seasons at Washington. While DeBoer is building his legacy with the Crimson Tide now, his daughter, Alexis, chose to stay put at Washington, forging her own path with the Huskies softball team. And Huskies’ wins are her wins, too.

As the Huskies transitioned from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, Alexis DeBoer made history with her powerful swing. She’s now the only freshman in Huskies softball to hit 20 home runs in a single season, besides Baylee Klingler. This makes her only the second freshman ever to achieve this feat and just the seventh Husky overall to hit over 20 home runs in a season. But this time? It’s not her. She’s fully invested in the team, celebrating the Huskies’ newest addition.

Ryan Maddox, a former Arizona pitcher, just transferred to Washington. On June 19, re-sharing Maddox’s IG post on her story, DeBoer’s daughter wrote, “HOW LUCKY ARE WE FOR 3 MORE 🥹.” Talking about being lucky? Alexis is hopeful about all that Maddox brings to the table. After all, she has proved herself enough and walks in with a strong resume. She had a 4.49 ERA as a redshirt freshman in 2025, with 24 strikeouts in 43.2 innings of work.

On May 22, Maddox became the fourth UA pitcher to enter the portal after Aissa Silva, Brooke Mannon, and Sydney Somerndike. Her parting tweet read, “I have entered the transfer portal with three more years of eligibility. It’s been an honor to wear the Arizona uniform. Thank you, Arizona coaches, managers, and trainers who have been there for me, the great fans, and especially my teammates, who I will miss.” She has been a highly rated recruit in the class of 2023 who missed her freshman season because of injury. Now you know why Alexis DeBoer is excited to welcome Maddox to her team.

In the 2025 season, she had struck out 24 total batters and held opponents to a .273 batting average. Not just this, Alexis’ new teammate recorded a career-high six strikeouts against Weber State (2/28) and pitched a career-best 5.0 innings in Arizona’s win against UCF (3/9). Now that Maddox has boarded the Huskies’ wagon, Alexis is the most excited one. At least her social media activity hints at it.

Kalen DeBoer’s daughter flooded Maddox’s commitment post on IG with her comments. “💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜,” “LITERALLY CRYING,” “DAWG FOR LIFE BABY,” “Wow🥹🥹🥹,” Alexis kept on swooning over the newly committed transfer. Amidst all the Maddox hype, we must not forget about Alexis hitting a milestone. 

Alexis DeBoer, a powerhouse in her own right

Kalen DeBoer’s daughter chose to come out of her dad’s shadow and carve a path of her own. Alexis calls herself a budding slugger on the softball scene. The younger DeBoer picked up an interest in the sport of softball when she was a 6-year-old kindergartener. Alexis is still belting home runs, but on a much larger field and stage. And given her talents, she did not have to wait long to add a feather to her cap.

In her first season at Washington, she became the second freshman in program history to hit 20 home runs on her way to earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Not just this, Alexis also garnered first-team all-conference honors and a unanimous selection to the all-freshman team. Now, do you know how Alexis broke the drought situation in the Husky camp?

She is the first Husky to earn conference freshman of the year honors since Taran Alvelo in 2016. DeBoer’s daughter batted .369 with nine doubles, a triple, 20 home runs, 26 walks, and 54 RBI. Given the stats, Alexis became just the fifth Big Ten freshman to hit 20 or more home runs in a season and the second Husky freshman to accomplish the feat.

Off the field, too, she has left a mark by grabbing an NIL deal from the $14.5 billion sportswear giant, Adidas. And her dad is beaming with pride, as ever. “She’s making a name for herself. I really believed that she had it in her, and it probably happened a little quicker than I even thought,” Kalen DeBoer said. “But she got the opportunities, and she took advantage of them. She takes care of business in all ways, in the classroom and all that kind of stuff. So I’m a proud dad.” With Maddox now joining forces with Alexis, Husky Nation is dreaming big—and the climb has just begun.