KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The University of Kansas announced Sunday evening the retirement of head baseball coach Ritch Price.
Price just completed his 20th season at KU. On July 1, 2002, he was named the 33rd head coach in program history.
He will leave Kansas with a 581-558-3 record, one Big 12 tournament championship and three NCAA regional appearances.
“Ritch Price poured his heart and soul into the Kansas Baseball program for two decades, and we are forever grateful for his significant contributions to our university, athletic department and baseball program,” Director of Athletics Travis Goff said in a news release. “His pride for Kansas Baseball is unmatched, and he has made an indelible impact on countless young men and our program. On behalf of the entire athletic department, we wish Ritch the very best in his well-deserved retirement.”
Price had 75 players during his tenure at Kansas play professional baseball with 10 players selected in the 10th round or higher.
“I want to thank all of the players that I have had the honor to coach and mentor over the past 20 years. I’ve always believed that baseball is a player’s game, and I’ve always taken great pride in being a player’s coach," Price said in a statement. "I’m so proud of the student-athletes who have played at KU during my tenure. My guys have represented our baseball program on the field, in the classroom and in our community in a first-class manner. I love you boys, you’re the best!”
His 44-year career coaching baseball comes to an end with a total of 1,199 wins during his time at Division I, junior college and high school levels. Price started out at Phoenix High School from 1978-81 before moving on to Jasper High School from 1982-83.
After that, he coached at Menlo College from 1983-86 before he became the director of athletes at De Anza Community College from 1987-94. Price then made the transition to Cal Poly from 1994-2002 before his arrival at Kansas in 2002.
In Price's absence, associate head coach Ryan Graves will serve as KU's interim head baseball coach until a new head coach is hired.
