Ritchie L. Price (born July 13, 1984) is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

coach and former

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

. He is an assistant baseball coach at

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

. Price played college baseball at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

before pursuing a professional career. Price was the head baseball coach at

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

from 2007 to 2011.

Amateur career

Price attended

San Luis Obispo High School San Luis Obispo High School, also referred to as "San Luis High" and "SLO High", is an American public high school in San Luis Obispo, California. It is the only non- continuation public high school within the city. The school is within the San ...

in San Luis Obispo, California. Playing for the school's varsity

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team for three years, he recorded a .392

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 24 career stolen bases. Upon graduation, he enrolled at the

, to play

for the

Kansas Jayhawks baseball The Kansas Jayhawks baseball team represents the University of Kansas and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. History Baseball has been played at the University of Kansas since 1880. In 1993, Kansas had arguably its best season ...

team. As a freshman at Kansas in 2003, Price had a .319

, a .400 on-base percentage (OBP), and a .366 SLG, with eleven doubles. He was named an All-

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

honorable mention at shortstop. As a sophomore in 2004, Price batted .339 with a .399 SLG, 1 home run, and 47 RBIs. He was named second team All-Big 12 and he also set a school record for hits by a sophomore with 84. In the 2005 season as a junior, Price hit 2 home runs and 14 doubles. He was named a Big 12 honorable mention. Following his junior season at Kansas, Price played collegiate summer baseball for the

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Red Sox play thei ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he batted 6-for-24 (.250) and had a .471 OBP. Price returned to school for a senior season in 2006, helping the Jayhawks to their first-ever Big 12 Conference Tournament championship and third ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

Professional career

The

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

chose Price with the eighteenth pick of the 18th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. Price began his professional career with the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island Boar ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, where he batted .000 with one run scored. He was demoted to the

Kingsport Mets The Kingsport Mets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1921 to 2020. They were located in Kingsport, Tennessee, and were last named for the team's major league affiliate, the New York Mets. The team played its home ga ...

of the

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

Appalachian League on June 29. He hit .252 with three doubles for Kingston.

Coaching career

In 2007, Price was named a graduate assistant at

South Dakota State South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

. On June 15, 2008, Price was named the full-time head coach of the Jackrabbits. On June 30, 2011, Price was named an assistant coach for the

team.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Kansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Ritchie Living people 1984 births Baseball shortstops Kansas Jayhawks baseball players Brooklyn Cyclones players Kingsport Mets players South Dakota State Jackrabbits baseball coaches Kansas Jayhawks baseball coaches Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Fresno State Bulldogs baseball coaches