In the summer of 2006, Kansas coach Ritch Price made frequent trips to Nevada and his friends feared he was spending too much time at the poker tables in Las Vegas. In reality, Price never bet a dollar on those trips, but he was gambling.

Price was staking a summer’s worth of travel to the Silver State on convincing his No. 1 recruit to come to Kansas. Nearly two years after Price’s first trip to Reno, Nev., he can still recall it vividly.

Price first arrived in Reno to watch a showcase tournament featuring teams made up of high school juniors from the area. In search of future Jayhawks, Price didn’t have to look hard to find a player he wanted. A two-way player representing the High Desert League named Tony Thompson stole the show.

As Price remembered in a game against the University of Nevada-Reno, Thompson went 3-for-4 and hit a home run over the light tower in left field. That feat alone was enough to bring Price back to Reno a month later during a Connie Mack League tournament. In the semifinals, Thompson’s team trailed by three runs with two outs in the ninth inning. But when he stepped to the plate, the bases were loaded. With one swing of the bat Thompson sent his team to the next round.

“At that point in time, he was my guy,” Price said. “I targeted him as the No. 1 guy on my recruiting list. He’ll probably tell you I went to Reno about four times that summer to see him play in person so every time he was in a tournament he’d see a Jayhawk coach.”

Price’s dedication — and ability to avoid casinos on those trips to Nevada — paid off last year when Thompson signed to play baseball at Kansas. This season, Thompson is penciled in as Kansas’ starting third baseman and could be one of the top freshmen in the Big 12, if not the nation. By the time his Kansas career is over, his name may be etched in the Kansas record book.

But Thompson hardly comes off as a hot-shot recruit who’s well on his way to a Major League career. He can barely believe Price put so much effort into recruiting him.

“He’d usually call me and tell me he was coming out and he’d wait after the game,” Thompson said of Price. “It was kind of an honor to have someone come that far just to see me.”

Of course, Thompson wasn’t giving any college coaches reason to stay out of Reno. As a junior, he was named first team all-state after batting .468 with 16 home runs and 53 RBI. In addition, he was 7-3 with a 2.19 ERA and 56 strikeouts that season as a pitcher for Galena High School.

As a result, Thompson had coaches from all over California and Nevada knocking on his door to play at their schools. However, it was Price — the coach who traveled the greatest distance to see Thompson — who landed the prize recruit.

“The thought of moving away was the hardest for me because all the schools I wanted to go to were so far away,” Thompson said. “But the coaches were awesome and just knowing I’d have a chance to play in the Big 12 and hopefully go to the College World Series was the biggest deal for me.”

Considering Kansas hasn’t reached a College World Series since 1993, those expectations might seem a little lofty, but they aren’t much higher than the expectations for Thompson himself.

Price cautioned that Thompson is sure to endure the growing pains that most freshmen go through early on, but he doesn’t expect Thompson to take long to adjust to the speed of the college game. By season’s end, Price said he’d like to see Thompson hitting around .300 with double-digit home runs and, most of all, playing solid defense.

“He has really good hands, he has a plus arm and he profiles as a professional third baseman,” Price said. “If he plays well defensively, I know he’s going to play. He’s going to struggle, there’s no doubt. Every freshman struggles the first half, but if he can handle it mentally and not bury himself, I think when the season’s over he’ll have very good numbers.”

And by the time Thompson’s Kansas career is over, he could solidify himself as Kansas’ single-season and career record holder in home runs. Travis Metcalf, who is now with the Texas Rangers, is Kansas’ current leader in both categories, with 18 home runs in 2004 and 29 in his career, but the latter may fall by season’s end. Seniors Erik Morrison and Ryne Price, who both have 24 career home runs, are on pace to surpass Metcalf’s career mark.

Coach Price isn’t a betting man, but he won’t be surprised if Thompson owns both records within three years before pursuing a professional career of his own.

“When I walked on this campus five years ago and Travis Metcalf was standing next to me, I thought ‘This guys has a chance to be a big time player,’” Coach Price said. “He fulfilled his dream and I think Tony has that same type of future.”

—Edited by Madeline Hyden