The UW Huskies softball team has the Big Ten Freshman of the Year: Alexis DeBoer.
If you’re not familiar with Husky softball but that last name sounds familiar, there’s a very good reason for it: she’s the daughter of Kalen DeBoer, who led the UW Huskies to the College Football Playoff championship game at the end of the 2023 season, his second year leading the Dawgs.
Days after that trip to the CFP final, Kalen DeBoer left Montlake to become head coach at Alabama. But Alexis, who had committed to Washington in 2022, didn’t follow him to Tuscaloosa.
And that’s proven to be a great thing for UW softball.
BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR 🏆#MightyAreTheWomen x @alexisdeboer22 pic.twitter.com/D62OTr1jfK
— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) May 9, 2025
In 46 games this season, Alexis DeBoer is hitting .356 (47 for 132) with 18 home runs, eight doubles, a triple, 45 RBIs, 30 runs, four stolen bases, a .447 on-base percentage and .841 slugging mark.
DeBoer, an infielder, also earned first team All-Big Ten and All-Freshman Team honors, and was named a top 10 finalist for NFCA National Freshman of the Year.
Earlier in the season, DeBoer won D1 Softball Player of the Week on March 11 after hitting .538 with five home runs, eight RBIs, six runs and five walks.
Second home run of the game for @alexisdeboer22, her third multi-homer game of the season!
T2 | 🐶 13 🟠 0
📺 B1G+
📲 https://t.co/ijuemf5dmH
📊 https://t.co/GyByaNGfnp pic.twitter.com/3MwJxGXcoU
— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) March 28, 2025
A native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, DeBoer was a local standout at Bellevue High School.
The Huskies also had a player on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team in catcher Jadyn Glab.
UW (34-17 overall) went 12-9 in Big Ten play this season to finish seventh in the conference standings. The Huskies fell to 10th-seeded Indiana on Wednesday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
QB Demond Williams Jr. pacing UW Huskies as spring practices wrap up