Inter Miami CF announced today it has signed Academy graduate Israel Boatwright as a Homegrown Player to a contract running through the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS) season, with options for 2027 and 2028. The young defender is now the ninth Inter Miami CF Academy product to sign for the First Team.
“This is another sign of progress for our development pathway as we continue to emphasize the importance of cultivating South Florida’s local youth talent at Inter Miami,” said Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Chris Henderson. “Israel has been with us since the Club’s inception and we’re proud to see him take this next step on his journey. We will continue to work with him and all of our young talents to help them find success at the First Team level.”
Boatwright, 18, made his professional debut in 2022, featuring in MLS NEXT Pro for Inter Miami CF II on an Academy contract, before signing his first professional contract with the team in May of 2023. The right back also made his First Team debut in 2023 by featuring in a pair of 2023 MLS regular season matches on short-term loan agreements from the Club’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate. Overall, the defender made 21 appearances for Inter Miami II between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, registering his first professional goal as well as three assists in the process.
Prior to his first years at the professional levels, the Dominican-American featured extensively for the Inter Miami CF Academy teams. Boatwright first joined the Club in 2019 as a member of the Academy’s inaugural roster, first featuring as part of the U-15 team. Notably, the right back had a successful campaign at the Academy level in 2022 with Inter Miami’s U-17 side, featuring as a key player as the team made it to the semifinals at the 2022 Generation adidas Cup, while earning Best XI honors in the tournament. He also helped the team , qualify for the MLS NEXT Cup U-17 tournament. and was named an MLS NEXT All-Star.
On the international stage, Boatwright has previously been called up by the Dominican Republic both at the youth and senior levels. He was called up by the Dominican Republic’s U-20 national team for the first time in 2022 and scored on his debut on June 26 in a 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship group stage match. He went on to help his country make history, reaching the final of the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship, earning the Dominican Republic’s first-ever qualifications for a FIFA World Cup at any level with the U-20 team, as well as the Summer Olympics. Boatwright was subsequently called up for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina alongside Inter Miami teammate Edison Azcona and appeared in all three matches of the country’s first-ever World Cup competition. Most recently, the defender featured for the country’s U-23 team at the 2023 Pan American games, as well as in a pair of friendlies in preparation for the Olympics.
Boatwright joins Noah Allen, Edison Azcona, Benjamin Cremaschi, Ian Fray, Tyler Hall, Santiago Morales, David Ruiz and Felipe Valencia as the first Homegrown signings to graduate from the Club’s Academy to the First Team.
