Kalen DeBoer is not the biological father of Alexis.
Kalen DeBoer, the head coach of Alabama, has confirmed that Alexis is not his biological daughter.
Just in time for takeoff, the 48-year-old father of two arrives. He pays $7 for a ticket in a tent located along the left field line. He watches as his daughter blisters a pitch that goes foul and smashes loudly against the left field wall, shielding the parking lot, with a 1-0 count in the bottom of the first inning at Bergh Field in Kirkland.
“That fan on the first-base side claims that would have smashed a windshield.”
Thankfully, parked cars were not damaged in Bellevue High School’s 8-3 KingCo 3A Tournament victory over Hazen on Monday.
For storage sheds, not so much.
The 17-year-old junior makes a seismic solo shot in right center on the following pitch, extending her arms and sending a rainbow hurtling over the top of the shed beyond the wall. Olivia George, the first baseman for Bellevue, gestures the vanishing blip of a ball off the deck.
In the first inning of Monday’s 8-3 victory over Hazen, Bellevue High School softball player Alexis DeBoer—a UW softball commit and the daughter of Husky football coach Kalen DeBoer—drills a solo home run to right center field. (Photo by Kalen DeBoer.)
Her father, the most famous man at Juanita High School, takes a seat next to the bleachers after Alexis DeBoer rounds the bases.
“Did you see that?!” he exclaims, grinning with satisfaction.
Say hello to softball dad Kalen DeBoer.
Of course, you are most likely familiar with him as football coach Kalen DeBoer. The former Fresno State coach oversaw a quick turnaround after taking over the 4-8 Huskies in 2021, leading to an 11-2 record and a No. 8 national ranking the previous autumn. A raise of $3.2 million to $4.2 million per year was granted to him before the conclusion of his debut season.
In actuality, the football season never ends—rather, it goes on forever. Even now, on a Monday in May, DeBoer interviews five separate players for post-spring exit interviews before racing the 28 minutes from Seattle to Kirkland in time for a 4 p.m. first pitch.
While standing behind the backstop, he remarks, “It’s a lot of fun when your kids are engaged and you can support them.” “The routine aspects of my job are fantastic. I adore it. I adore every aspect of it. However, there must be some time set aside for you to disappear and observe your child engaging in their favorite activity.
Softball player Alexis DeBoer (center), who committed to play for the University of Washington, is pictured with her parents, Nicole and Kalen, after Bellevue High School. Photograph by Kalen DeBoer
He watches while sporting work attire that includes a black UW cap, a black UW shirt, and purple and white Adidas Ultraboost sneakers. His wife, Nicole DeBoer, wears a white softball hat and sweatshirt from Bellevue.
However, DeBoer’s two selves are entwined; they are not distinct from one another. Kalen uses the “GameChanger” app, which has a live video feed from a stationary camera behind his home plate, to keep an eye on Alexis’s games when he is unable to leave work. While pitching in the top of the second inning, Alexis proudly displays the scrollable stats and standings on the app.
Similarly, DeBoer’s work invariably follows him out into the field. Cradling his phone and leaning against the fence, he drifts down the right-field line in the top of the fifth to return a call from UW strength coach Ron McKeefery. He’s spent ten years handling situations in travel tournaments and doubleheaders, so he knows where to find quiet areas with good sight views.
For a college football coach, an office seems to be everywhere.
“I said, ‘This phone call is going to take ten minutes; please check my background, Ps and Qs, whatever.'” Hadley Heck, the head of social media at UW, remembers her summer job interview. He spent between forty-five and an hour speaking with me. As it happened, he was at his daughter’s softball game. He was just speaking with me in a very private way, and I could hear applause in the distance.
DeBoer’s identities are going to get closer together. Alexis verbally committed to Washington in September of last year. Extra Inning Softball ranks Alexis as the No. 13 national recruit in the 2024 class.
@alexisdeboer22 on Twitter: “#15741240848087871488”
The walk from football to softball will soon take just thirty seconds.
“She found a fantastic environment with awesome coaches here at UW to continue playing the game she loves so much, and I think that’s fairly lucky,” he remarks. It’s convenient, and if she had gone somewhere else, I would have missed out on a lot.
But in the end, I wanted her to go where she felt most at ease, and the players and coaches in this program at UW have all been incredibly friendly to her. I’m looking forward to continuing to play at UW for many years to come.
DeBoer’s excitement makes sense. Alexis is batting.667 in her junior season, with a.754 on-base percentage, 32 hits, 35 RBI, and 12 home runs in 18 games. She is hitting.325 today with two RBI, a home run, and a double.
(She is primarily an infielder and is asked to pitch this season for the first time in seven years, but she also achieves a complete-game victory, giving up two earned runs with nine hits and nine strikeouts.)
Hazen’s third baseman catches her scorching one-hopper and blasts it to first for her lone out. DeBoer brags that it’s his daughter’s first groundout of the season as Alexis jogs to the dugout.
