WICHITA, Kan. – Friends University quarterback K'Vonte Baker, offensive lineman Kyree Watkins, head coach Terry Harrison and offensive coordinator Eric Kelly have received top awards in the 2025 All-KCAC selections, announced today (Nov. 20) by the conference office.
Baker is the KCAC Player of the Year and Watkins is the KCAC Offensive Lineman of the Year, while Harrison is the Coach of the Year and Kelly earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Harrison was also the Bissell Division Coach of the Year and Kelly finished in a three-way tie for Bissell Assistant Coach of the Year.
This is the third Player of the Year nod for Baker, as he was also named the 2023 KCAC Player of the Year in 2023 and was selected as the Co-Offensive Player of the Year last season.
Baker added another chapter this year to what is already a historic playing career at Friends. The Wichita product broke his own modern-era single-season record with a career-high 26 rushing touchdowns along with a team-leading 1,013 rushing yards. Baker also reached 3,506 career rushing yards in the Falcons' regular season finale win at Saint Mary last Saturday (Nov. 15) to eclipse Jesse Rogers' modern era rushing record set back in 2016.
Also the 2024 KCAC Kessinger Coach of the Year, Harrison guided the 11-0 Falcons to their first undefeated season since 2008 along with the program's second straight KCAC Division title and the No. 4 seed in the upcoming NAIA Football Championship Series. Meanwhile, Kelly, the 2024 Kessinger Assistant Coach of the Year, coordinated an offense that is tops in the nation in scoring (57.5 ppg), nearly six points ahead of second-place Southwestern College.
Watkins served as an anchor for an offensive line that helped pave the way for a rushing unit this season that amassed 5,301 rushing yards, just 51 yards shy of breaking the Falcons' own NAIA single-season mark set last season.
Overall, first-team All-KCAC offensive selections for the Falcons were Baker, Watkins, running backs Nick Cordova and E'Derian Sykes and offensive lineman Kenyon Vigil.
Cordova (815 rushing yards, nine touchdowns) and Sykes (809 rushing yards, eight touchdowns) were huge pieces in the Falcons' standout rushing offense while Vigil was a critical component of the offensive line success.
On defense, defensive lineman Jairo Castillo, linebacker Andrew Arnold and defensive backs Joshua Flash and Kasey Lehman earned first-team honors for a defensive unit that allowed the fewest points per game (10.8 ppg) in the NAIA under defensive coordinator Paul Kempf.
Castillo was an ultimate disruptor and led the Falcons in both sacks (six) and tackles for loss (11.0), with Arnold recording 4.5 sacks and a pair of interceptions. Flash (four interceptions) and Lehman (three interceptions) were both ball hawkers in the secondary and teamed up for one of the most crucial players of the year for the Falcons. With Friends trailing McPherson 24-21 late in the first half on Homecoming in the KCAC Bissell Division opener, Flash picked off a pass and returned it to the one-yard line before lateraling to Lehman for the final yard into the end zone that put the Falcons up 28-24 and provided crucial momentum heading into halftime. The Falcons carried that over and outscored the Bulldogs 28-8 in the second half on the way to maintaining their perfect record.
Truitt Bosher is the first-team All-KCAC kicker after making 8-of-9 field goals and 85-86 extra point attempts, with long snapper Braelyn Jay also earning first-team recognition on special teams.
Second-team selections on offense are running back Michael Lopez, tight end Samuel Becker and offensive lineman Cole Herman, while defensive lineman Taeylon Garland and linebacker Tyson Wallace received second-team selections on defense.
Lopez rushed for 638 yards and was second on the team with 10 rushing touchdowns. The Wichita native also had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown and averaged 18.1 yards on 18 punt returns to earn second-team honors on special teams for the Falcons.
Becker had a team-high four catches with 126 receiving yards and one touchdown for the Falcons' rushing focused offensive attack and Herman served as a key component within the Falcons' offensive line unit.
Garland ranked second on the defense with 5.5 sacks and had seven stops behind the line of scrimmage and Wallace was a consistent presence with a team-high 47 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss.
Kel Stroud was another critical part of the Falcons' dominant offensive line and garnered third-team honors, with defensive back Wetu Kalomo receiving a third-team nod on defense after recording an interception and making 24 tackles from the secondary.
Jace Martin averaged 26.8 yards on 12 kickoff returns to earn third-team recognition on special teams and Jay was also a third-team all-purpose selection in addition to his first-team honors as a long snapper.
"It's always fun to see young men recognized for their hard work and accomplishments on the field," said Harrison. "It's such an honor to be recognized by other coaches in the conference. Although it never seems like quite enough kids, I'm proud to be at Friends University and to coach young men that prioritize winning over individual awards. All of these young men are deserving and I'm very proud of them. We have elite young men!"
The No. 4-ranked Falcons are set to make their second consecutive NAIA FCS appearance and have received a bye this weekend before hosting a second-round game on Nov. 29 at Adair-Austin Stadium. Kickoff will be at 1 pm and the opponent will be determined Saturday evening (Nov. 22) following the conclusion of the first-round games.
