ENMU's Frye, Cass named All-Americans

Eastern New Mexico University has a pair of All-Americans in senior Lauren Frye and junior Kamal Cass.

The awards were announced this week by the American Football Coaches Association and the Division II College Coaches Association. Cass was named to the football first team as an all-purpose specialist, while Frye was named to the third team as an outside hitter.

Cass’ AFCA All-America honors are the school’s first since Jeff Howard in 2004 and 10th among nine players. Linebacker Michael Walton earned the honor in 1998 and 1999.

As a junior, Cass paced the nation's second leading rushing attack with a Lone Star Conference-leading 1,191 yards along and 14 touchdowns. It was the second-straight year Cass, named the LSC’s offensive back of the year, led the conference in rushing.

“Nobody deserved this award more,” ENMU coach Josh Lynn said. “Consistently, Kamal Cass has been putting up big number since his sophomore year. This is a big award that really recognizes what he's done for us.”

Frye, the LSC’s offensive player of the year, set a new career school record with 1,701 kills. She is the program’s first All-American since Jennifer Goble in the early 1990s.

During the LSC season, Frye notched 341 kills in league play, hitting .331 with seven solo blocks and 29 total blocks and was named offensive player of the week five times.

“There are so many great players across this nation, even just in this conference,” Frye said. “As a freshman, I looked up to the All-Americans I faced on the opposite side of the net and for four years, I aimed to achieve small goals, raising the bar each year, and I am so thankful for my coaches for pushing me and helping me be recognized as one of the top players in the nation. My career and all of my supporters here at this university has been such a blessing and I'm so grateful to have experienced such a rewarding senior year."

Frye, the 2013 LSC freshman of the year, was a key recruit in the first season for Greyhounds coach Sia Poyer.

“I'm just really happy for her,” Poyer said on his senior. "It's funny, I still remember my conversation with her when she was a freshman and I told her she was good enough to be an All-American. That's looking only at her athletic ability. She was still young and hadn't been playing volleyball her whole life.

“I think a lot of the time, I don't appreciate how much better she's gotten until I watch footage. How she's able to hit some of her shots is remarkable. I give all the credit to Lauren and her hard work.”