Fraze to apply for Portales girls head coaching job

Before Clay Stout assumed his role as the Lady Rams head basketball coach last summer, the Portales girls had only two coaches in more than 30 years. Following Stout’s resignation Tuesday, the squad will have their third coach in three years.

But if stability is what the administration is looking for, they may find it on their own bench.

Lady Ram varsity assistant and junior varsity coach Wade Fraze has confirmed that he will be putting his name forward for consideration of the high-profile position.

“It is a tough position because of the history,” Fraze said. “It’s a good position because the girls expect to win when they step on the court.”

Fraze also applied for the same job a year ago, after long-time coach Brenda Gomez left for Texas and Stout was brought in from Texico, but Fraze said the right decision was made at that time.

“The right man was picked for that job,” Fraze said. “Coach Stout is a great coach, and I learned a lot from him.”

Fraze has been a head coach in boys or girls basketball for nine years, and an assistant for six years.

Following high school in Grady, and college at Eastern New Mexico University, Fraze coached the Dora girls from 1994-1995, then coached the Lady Eagles at Seagraves High School in Texas from 1998-2000. Fraze also coached the boys varsity team in Sterling City from 2001-2005, before coming to Portales to serve as the junior varsity girls head coach and an assistant under Gomez.

Under Fraze, the Seagraves girls won two bi-district basketball championships and the Sterling City boys won one bi-district championship.
“We coach the best girls in the state (in Portales), as far as the kind of kids they are,” Fraze said.

Junior Lady Ram Tara Johnson, Portales’ leading scorer last season, said she thinks Fraze’s familiarity with the Lady Rams would be a big plus.

“I like (coach Fraze) a lot,” Johnson said. “I think he’s good for us because he knows what we can do. If a new coach came in, he wouldn’t know that because he wouldn’t know us. Coach Fraze knows us pretty good because he’s been with us for awhile.”

Reached Wednesday for comment, Portales Municipal School’s superintendent Randy Fowler didn’t reveal a time frame for the search, but they will have somebody in place for the new school year.

“My philosophy and Clay’s are a lot alike,” Fraze said. “So maybe it won’t be as big of an adjustment as this past year was — if it were me, and that’s the administration’s call. Whatever they feel like the direction the program needs to go — we want the best person for the job so the kids benefit, that’s the bottom line.”

During Gomez’ 22 years as head coach, the Portales girls won five state championship titles, and advanced to the state championship game seven consecutive years from 2000-2006. Under Stout last season, the Lady Rams snapped that streak, losing in the state quarterfinals.