Arkansas Signees Dever Boaz and King Named Top Players in State by MaxPreps Ahead of 2026 Season
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas softball signees Macie Dever Boaz and Katie King were both named the top players in their respective states ahead of the 2026 season by MaxPreps, the publication announced Thursday afternoon.
It marks the third consecutive year Arkansas has had a signee named to the list, as King’s teammate Ava Hodo (Orange Beach, Ala.) garnered the preseason honor for Alabama a year ago, and Ava Carter (Greene County Tech HS) received the selection for Arkansas in 2024. Dever Boaz preps at Hernando High School in Hernando, Miss., while King attends Orange Beach High School in Orange Beach, Ala.
Dever Boaz is the No. 1 ranked Catcher in the Extra Innings Softball Extra Elite 100 for the class of 2026. She has posted a .534 batting average with 32 home runs, 98 RBI, 101 stolen bases, and 103 runs scored during her high school career, earning all-state and all-district honors three times. She was named a finalist for the Mississippi State Softball Player of the Year, Memphis Area Player of the Year, and earned District MVP honors after batting .521 with 49 hits, including 10 doubles, seven triples, eight home runs, 38 RBI, and 53 runs scored as a junior in 2025. She helped lead Hernando to a 33-4 record and state runner-up finish. Her eight round-trippers were also a Hernando single-season record. Dever Boaz spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at Northpoint Christian School, where she hit .590 with 15 homers, 47 RBIs, and 40 stolen bases as a sophomore in 2024. Her mother, Carie Dever Boaz, was a three-time All-American at Fresno State from 1988-1990 before becoming the first head coach in Arkansas Softball history in 1997, leading the Razorbacks to two NCAA appearances in her eight seasons at the helm and earning SEC Coach of the Year honors in 1999.
A four-star recruit according to Softball America, King began her high school career at Wayne Christian School in Goldsboro, N.C., where she played varsity from seventh grade through her freshman year before moving to Orange Beach High School, where she has prepped since 2024. King led the Orange Beach Makos to back-to-back state championships and earned all-state honors in 2024 and 2025. She was named MaxPreps Alabama Player of the Year and earned MaxPreps All-America honors in 2025 after registering a .586 batting average with 85 hits, 22 doubles, eight home runs, eight triples, 77 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases while posting a .627 on-base percentage. As a sophomore, she batted .482 with 55 hits, including 12 doubles, five triples, and three home runs, while driving in 46 runs and scoring 67, in addition to stealing 24 bases. During her time at Wayne Christian, she earned all-state honors in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Arkansas opens its 30th season of play and 11th season under the direction of head coach Courtney Deifel in Conway, S.C., at the Kickin’ Chicken Classic (Feb. 6-8). The Razorbacks will commence the season by facing Virginia (9 a.m.) and Akron (11:30 a.m.) on Friday, Feb. 6. The Hogs are coming off a 44-14 mark in 2025, which featured their eighth-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and fourth NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history, all of which have come under Deifel’s guidance
For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.
