Ritchie Price - Baseball - Kansas Jayhawks

Ritchie Price

TITLE Assistant Coach

Bio

Ritchie Price finished his 11th season as an assistant coach with the Kansas baseball program in 2022. Price handles the team’s offense, defensive positioning, works with the development of infielders, coaches third base and assists with recruiting.

Ritchie was hired on July 1, 2011, following three seasons as head coach at South Dakota State.

Defensively, KU has posted a fielding percentage of .970 or better in eight of 11 seasons since Price began coaching at his alma mater, including a program-best .977 mark in 2012. The Jayhawks led the Big 12 in fielding percentage in 2019 and 2021.

Price has helped ten position players get drafted, two receive freshman All-American honors, two earn all-region accolades and 39 be awarded all-conference honors.

Before his return to Kansas, Price spent three seasons as the head coach at South Dakota State, where he helped build a new Division I program into a winner. In his time at SDSU, Price led the Jackrabbits to a 102-71 overall record with signature wins over established programs like Arkansas, Minnesota, Iowa and Creighton. He helped SDSU appear in the Summit League Championship game three-straight years. Price was the youngest head coach at the Division I level.

As a player at KU, the San Luis-Obispo, California, native eclipsed 24 school records and was named the top shortstop in the Big 12 in 2004 by Baseball America. He served as the team’s captain in 2005 and 2006, helping lead KU to the program’s first Big 12 Championship in 2006. Price is also in the NCAA Division I Baseball record book for career assists (777), currently ranking fourth in NCAA history.

Price finished his collegiate career with a .305 batting average, 312 hits, 41 doubles, five triples, five home runs, 132 RBIs, 204 runs scored, 107 walks and 25 stolen bases. He is still the school’s career record-holder in games played (255), at-bats (1,022), runs (204) and hits (312).

Following his senior season, Price was selected by the New York Mets in the 18th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies. He earned a master’s degree in health, physical education, and recreation from South Dakota State in 2009.

He and his son, Ryan, reside in Lawrence.

THE PRICE FILE
PositionAssistant Coach
Alma MaterKansas, 2007
SonRyan

PREVIOUS STOPS
SchoolYear
Kansas (AC)2012-22
South Dakota State (HC)2008-11

By the Numbers
Years played at Kansas2003-06
Games played at Kansas255
Number of hits (KU record)312
Years as youngest head coach in Division I3