WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State defensive lineman Myles Menges was named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America First Team on Wednesday (Dec. 18). Menges was the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 and was a four-time All-MIAA selection for the Tigers. He is the first AFCA All-America selection for the Tigers since Hunter Budke was a first-team selection at tight end in 2021.
 
Menges is the fifth player under head coach Chris Brown to receive All-America honors from the AFCA. He is the third defensive lineman among the five to earn the honor. He joins Sie Doe, Jr. (2016 – First Team Defensive Line), Nathan Shepherd (2017 – First Team Defensive Line), Dante Brown (2019 – Second Team Kicker), and Hunter Budke (2021 – First Team Tight End) in the prestigious group. All three defensive linemen to receive the honor were the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year in the respective seasons they earned the honor.
 
Menges adds this honor to a big list of accolades throughout his Tiger career. Earlier this year he was named to the D2CCA All-Super Region 3 Team. He is a four-time all-conference selection. He is a two-time CSC Academic All-District selection and will be considered for CSC Academic honors again this year with the voting yet to take place.
 
Menges finished the 2024 season with 27 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. His most impressive stat was 11 pass breakups by batting down several passes at the line of scrimmage. He led all defensive linemen in NCAA Division II by a landslide, the only one to reach double figures, and it ranked 16th nationally all behind defensive backs, which dominate the category. His total was enough to lead one of the four conferences within Super Region 3.
 
Menges finished his FHSU career with 182 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, 2 interceptions, 23 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
 
Below is the AFCA All-America Team for NCAA Division II in 2024.
 

2024 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America - First Team
Offense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
QB	*Zach Zebrowski	6'2	208	R-Sr.	Central Missouri	Josh Lamberson	Woodbury, Minn. (East Ridge)
RB	Chavon Wright	5'8	200	R-Jr.	Charleston (W.Va.)	Quinn Sanders	Opa Locka, Fla. (Cedar Grove)
RB	#Jada Byers	5'7	185	Sr.	Virginia Union	Alvin Parker	Bridgeton, N.J. (St. Joseph's)
WR	Reggie Retzlaff	6'3	212	Sr.	Colorado St.-Pueblo	Philip Vigil	Corona, Calif. (Centennial)
WR	Terrill Davis	6'0	180	Jr.	Central Oklahoma	Adam Dorrel	Choctaw, Okla. (Choctaw)
WR	Tyler Kahmann	6'3	206	Gr.	Emporia St. (Kan.)	Garin Higgins	Haysville, Kan. (Campus)
TE	Sam Pitz	6'6	245	Gr.	Minnesota-Duluth	Curt Wiese	Appleton, Wis. (West)
OL	Lawrence Hattar	6'5	335	Sr.	Ferris St. (Mich.)	Tony Annese	Livonia, Mich. (Churchill)
OL	Montriel Lee	6'2	300	Jr.	Central Oklahoma	Adam Dorrel	Del City, Okla. (Del City)
OL	Jake Dugger	6'3	300	Sr.	Harding (Ark.)	Paul Simmons	Searcy, Ark. (Harding Academy)
OL	Gabe Brown	6'4	320	Sr.	Grand Valley St. (Mich.)	Scott Wooster	Grand Rapids, Mich. (East Kentwood)
OL	Will Flowers	6'3	283	Gr.	Valdosta St. (Ga.)	Tremaine Jackson	LaGrange, Ga. (LaGrange)
Defense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
DL	Trevon Lambert	6'3	205	Gr.	West Alabama	Brett Gilliland	Atmore, Ala. (Escambia County)
DL	Myles Menges	6'4	260	Sr.	Fort Hays St. (Kan.)	Chris Brown	Bushton, Kan. (Central Plains)
DL	Ricky Freymond	6'5	265	R-Jr.	Western Colorado	Jas Bains	Chino, Calif. (Ontario Christian)
DL	*Marquise Fleming	6'1	240	Gr.	Wingate (N.C.)	Rashaan Jordan	Charlotte, N.C. (Olympic)
LB	Benari Black	6'2	215	Sr.	Johnson C. Smith (N.C.)	Maurice Flowers	Charlotte, N.C. (North Meck)
LB	Clay Schulte	5'11	210	Sr.	Indianapolis (Ind.)	Chris Keevers	Oak Harbor, Ohio (Oak Harbor)
LB	Cam Hollobaugh	6'0	220	R-Jr.	Walsh (Ohio)	John Fankhauser	Warren, Ohio (JFK)
DB	Lashon Young	5'11	175	So.	Miles (Ala.)	Sam Shade	Sweet Water, Ala. (Sweet Water)
DB	Larry Elder	6'0	200	Gr.	Valdosta St. (Ga.)	Tremaine Jackson	Richmond, Va. (Fork Union Military)
DB	Josiah Johnson	5'11	210	Sr.	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	Todd Knight	Little Rock, Ark. (Pulaski Academy)
DB	Dion Kuinlan	5'10	190	Gr.	Assumption (Mass.)	Andy McKenzie	Bethpage, N.Y. (Plainedge)
Specialists
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
PK	Elijah Guyton	6'1	185	R-So.	West Alabama	Brett Gilliland	Cullman, Ala. (Fairview)
P	Blake Doud	6'5	215	R-Jr.	Colorado School of Mines	Pete Sterbick	Parker, Colo. (Legend)
AP	DeJuan Bell	5'9	160	Gr.	Fort Valley State (Ga.)	Shawn Gibbs	North Augusta, S.C. (North Augusta)
2024 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America - Second Team
Offense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
QB	Trinidad Chambliss	6'1	200	Jr.	Ferris St. (Mich.)	Tony Annese	Grand Rapids, Mich. (Forest Hills Northern)
RB	Ronald Blackman	5'11	190	Jr.	Tiffin (Ohio)	Brett Ekkens	Gahanna, Ohio (Lincoln)
RB	LJ Turner	5'9	195	Jr.	Catawba (N.C.)	Tyler Haines	Palm Bay, Fla. (Heritage)
WR	Jo Hayes	5'10	175	Gr.	North Carolina-Pembroke	Mark Hall	Peanut City, Va. (Norcom)
WR	Brice Peters	5'11	190	Sr.	Bemidji St. (Minn.)	Brent Bolte	White Bear Lake, Minn. (White Bear Lake)
WR	*Max McLeod	6'3	200	R-Sr.	Colorado School of Mines	Pete Sterbick	Seattle, Wash. (Bainbridge)
TE	Henry Dryden	6'3	220	R-Jr.	South Dakota Mines	Charlie Flohr	Boise, Idaho (Boise)
OL	Donovan McCollister	6'3	280	R-Sr.	Charleston (W.Va.)	Quinn Sanders	Nelsonville, Ohio (York)
OL	Yoesph Carter	6'4	295	Gr.	Findlay (Ohio)	Kory Allen	Cincinnati, Ohio (Princeton)
OL	Marshall Foerner	6'7	305	Sr.	Minnesota St.	Todd Hoffner	Plano, Ill. (Marmion Academy)
OL	Jaheim Bassham	6'2	280	Sr.	California (Pa.)	Gary Dunn	Erie, Pa. (Cathedral Prep)
OL	*Gabe Clark	6'6	320	R-Sr.	Central Missouri	Josh Lamberson	Lawrence, Kan. (Free State)
Defense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
DL	Gage Price	6'3	285	Sr.	Harding (Ark.)	Paul Simmons	Hamburg, Ark. (Hamburg)
DL	Dawson Scott	6'4	250	Sr.	Southern Arkansas	Brad Smiley	Mexia, Tex. (Mexia)
DL	Jamair Diaz	6'1	235	So.	Glenville St. (W.Va.)	Mike Kellar	Passaic, N.J. (Passaic)
DL	Jake Fisher	6'5	260	Sr.	Northwest Missouri St.	Rich Wright	Smithville, Mo. (Smithville)
LB	*Micah Cretsinger	6'2	240	Sr.	Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.)	Ryan Brady	Jackson, Mich. (Jackson)
LB	Garrett Cox	5'11	230	R-Sr.	Indiana (Pa.)	Paul Tortorella	Avondale, Pa. (Kennett)
LB	Colin Stuhr	6'0	215	R-Jr.	Colorado Mesa	Miles Kochevar	Littleton, Colo. (Dakota Ridge)
DB	*Peyton Buckley	6'1	207	Sr.	Augustana (S.D.)	Jerry Olszewski	Rice Lake, Wis. (Rice Lake)
DB	*Melvin Smith Jr.	6'1	185	Sr.	Southern Arkansas	Brad Smiley	Bossier City, La. (Airline)
DB	*Tanner Volk	6'`1	189	Sr.	Central Washington	Chris Fisk	Portland, Ore. (Aloha)
DB	Cameren Grodhaus	6'2	210	Gr.	Davenport (Mich.)	Sparky McEwen	Wellsville, Ohio (Southern Local)
Specialists
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
PK	Brandon Perez	6'1	205	So.	East Central (Oka.)	John Litrenta	Crandall, Tex. (Crandall)
P	Brenden Lach	6'1	185	Sr.	Michigan Tech	Dan Mettlach	South Lyon, Mich. (South Lyon)
AP	Virgil Lemons	6'0	190	Sr.	West Florida	Kaleb Nobles	Deerfield Beach, Fla. (Deerfield Beach)

*-2023 AFCA All-American
#-2022 AFCA All-American