Anyone who says it’s better to give than to receive never received as much good news as the University of Kansas baseball team did during the holidays.

On Dec. 7, it was announced that Kansas coach Ritch Price would join the USA Baseball National Team staff this summer as an assistant coach.

National Team head coach Rob Walton picked the candidates for three assistant positions himself, so Price was flattered when he received a phone call from the National Team.

“I was really excited and honored when they called me and asked if I was interested,” Price said. “When you’re a college baseball coach, that’s one of the greatest experiences in our profession.

“I can’t tell you how humbled I was by the invitation to be on that staff. It’ll be one of the biggest experiences of my career.”

But before Price could officially join the National Team staff, he had to receive permission from the Athletics Department, which turned out to be a cinch.

“When I called Lew Perkins and Sean Lester, they were both ecstatic,” Price said. “That’s one of the things that they want to have happen.”

The real challenge for Price will come this summer when he will have to balance his responsibilities with both Kansas and the National Team.

Price, who has compiled a 173-142-1 record in five seasons at Kansas, said he hoped to get as many verbal commitments as possible from recruits before leaving with the National Team for North Carolina in June.

In July, Price and the National Team will head to Europe to play the Czech Republic National Team before defending its gold medal in the IV FISU World Collegiate Championship in Brno, Czech Republic. Then, when he returns in August, Price will hit the road for in-home visits with recruits.

Along with Price, Old Dominion coach Jerry Meyers and San Francisco coach Nino Giarratano complete Walton’s staff.

Kansas lands 10 recruits for 2008-09

On Dec. 11, Price unveiled his recruiting class for the 2009 season – his best yet at Kansas.

In particular, Price said this was the strongest group of pitchers he’d signed at Kansas. The pitchers he landed were right-handers Kevin Burk, Warrensburg, Mo., Jared Meggison, Grimes, Iowa, Thomas Taylor, Overland Park, and left-handers Travis Blankenship, Lawrence, and Kelson Boyer, Eudora. Blankenship graduated from Free State High School and will transfer in from Johnson County Community College.

The position players in the class were outfielder Jason Brunansky, Poway, Calif., first baseman Zach Elgie, Minot, N.D., third baseman Jake Marasco, Maize, second baseman Colton Murray, Olathe, and Lee Ridenhour, Lenexa. Murray and Ridenhour may also see time as pitchers.

One look at the class and it becomes clear Price is no longer dependant on finding recruits from his old stomping grounds of California, with only Brunansky coming in from the “Golden State.”

Although seven current Jayhawk baseball players hail from California, Price has always emphasized in-state recruiting. This year’s class, with six commitments from in-state recruits, is evidence of how much progress Price has made in Kansas.

“From the time we got here, we’ve tried to win the state first and that’s been hard for us to do. In our first four years, a majority of the best players in our state were going to Nebraska or Wichita State,” Price said. “It’s the first time we think we’ve won the state. We feel like, of the six best players in the state, we signed four.”

Price said a number of factors, including Kansas’ Big 12 Championship in 2006 and the $2 million clubhouse that will be completed later this year, have helped Kansas compete with other schools in the area for top recruits.

One of the players Price signed who had no shortage of suitors was Marasco, who was also recruited by Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Wichita State. However, Marasco chose to add his name to the growing list of players from Maize High School to play baseball at Kansas.

“I think it’s on its way up and going to keep going up, so it’d be a great time to get involved with that kind of program,” Marasco said of Kansas.

Other Maize baseball players to come to Kansas include freshman right-hander Jordan Jakubov, who signed with Kansas last year, and the famous Baty brothers, Ryan and Matt, who are two of the greatest players in program history.

Marasco said he was close to all three, having played with Jakubov and watched his older brother play with Matt. However, it was Ryan who gave Marasco the most encouragement to sign with Kansas.

“Ryan just talked about how great it is up there,” Marasco said. “They definitely helped out and they had nothing but great things to say.”

And it just so happens that Price insists Marasco will remind Kansas fans of Ryan Baty.

“That’s one of the best compliments I can get. He’s a great player, but until I perform like it, it doesn’t mean too much,” Marasco said. “I’ll try to live up to it.”

And Marasco knows he’ll have a chance to live up to expectations. He said the Kansas coaches told him they’d find a place to play him if he earned it.

“So, I guess it’s kind of on me now,” Marasco said.

Price said Marasco – along with Elgie, Murray, Ridenhour and Taylor – would contribute his first year. But Price cautioned he could lose Marasco and Elgie to the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

Allman earns preseason recognition

Senior outfielder John Allman was named to the 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List, concluding Kansas’ string of good news over break.

In 2007, Allman led Kansas with a .333 batting average, hit four home runs, drove in 44 runs and tallied a career-high 10-game hit streak.

“It’s a tremendous honor for him,” Price said. “It’s a great statement about his first three years at KU.”

Based on his performance in the fall, Price expects Allman’s final season at Kansas to be his most productive.

“He was absolutely phenomenal in the fall,” Price said. “He was better at every phase of the game and if he plays like he did in the fall I’ll be absolutely thrilled.”

— Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird