Kansas baseball coach Ritch Price says he's retiring after 20 seasons in charge

LAWRENCE — Ritch Price’s first game as Kansas baseball’s head coach came in 2003, and his last one was played Saturday.

Price announced his retirement Sunday after 20 seasons leading the Jayhawks, departing with an overall record of 581-558-3. This season Kansas fell short of another postseason bid, but in Price’s time in charge the Jayhawks made three NCAA regional appearances and won a Big 12 Conference tournament title along the way. No coach in program history has collected more wins.

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“For the past 20 years, I have been honored and privileged to serve as the head baseball coach at the University of Kansas,” said Price, whose Jayhawks finished 20-35 overall this season and 4-20 in the Big 12, in a Kansas release. “After meeting with (athletics director) Travis Goff today, we agreed that it’s time for me to announce my retirement.”

Price continued in the release with expressions of gratitude for those within the athletic department who he met and developed relationships with across the last two decades. He singled out a number of individuals, from the team’s sport administrator in deputy athletic director Sean Lester, to trainer Ken Wainwright, to director of baseball operations Wally Marciel and more. And Price highlighted all of the assistant coaches he had during his tenure, too.

Price said there was $7 million raised during his time at Kansas for Hoglund Ballpark upgrades, which he described as instrumental to helping the Jayhawks compete in the Big 12 and develop their players. For that, he pointed to the generosity, financial support and passion for donors, alumni, fans and others. Price thanked them all, too.

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Price came to Kansas from Cal Poly, which followed stops at De Anza Community College, Menlo College and the high school level. He amassed more than 1,000 career victories across those different levels. And while Kansas searches for Price’s replacement, a process that is now underway, associate head coach Ryan Graves is serving as the interim head coach.

“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,” Goff said in the 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, whose highest finish in the Big 12 regular season standings was third in 2014, coached more than 100 all-conference honorees during his time at Kansas. At the time of his retirement, the number of Jayhawks who went on to play professional baseball rests at 75. Don Czyz, in 2006, and Tony Thompson, in 2009, became All-Americans for Price.

Those players, as a whole, helped Kansas to 11 winning seasons with Price at the helm. Those NCAA tournament seasons came in 2006, 2009 and 2014. The Big 12 tournament title came in 2006.

“Finally, I want to thank all of the players that I have had the honor to coach and mentor over the past 20 years,” Price said in the release. “I’ve always believed that baseball is a player’s game and I’ve always taken great pride in being a player’s coach. 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!”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas baseball coach Ritch Price retiring after 20 seasons