Kansas University baseball coach Ritch Price didn’t have to go far to find the final piece of his coaching staff.

Lawrence resident and former Cleveland Indians scout Steve Abney was named the Jayhawks’ pitching coach Monday, joining Ryan Graves and Reggie Christiansen on Price’s staff.

“It was really amazing that I could get somebody with his qualifications who was living in Lawrence,” Price said. “I think he’s a tremendous addition to our staff.”

Abney said the job at Kansas was enticing because of the location.

“In scouting, you’re constantly gone and I would not have moved to take this job,” he said. “I won’t move from Lawrence right now because my kids are school-age.”

Being able to coach with Price, whom he’s known for 15 years, also was a factor.

In 10 years at Lassen (Susanville, Calif.) Community College, Abney had a 305-90 record overall, made the California Community College playoffs nine straight years and won eight Golden Valley Conference championships.

An eight-time winner of the Golden Valley Conference coach of the year award, he was inducted into the California Community College Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1990.

Abney’s experience already is obvious to the Jayhawks.

“I think he has a great knowledge of baseball and pitching,” sophomore pitcher Tom Gorzelanny said. “I think he’s working very well with us and getting us on the right track.”

Abney is familiar with the area, having spent the past five years as the Midwest scouting coordinator for the Indians. He’s also familiar with the Jayhawks, having signed Doug Lantz and Jeff Davis for Cleveland the past two seasons, and likes what he’s seen this fall.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised in a lot of ways with the amount of talent that’s here,” Abney said. “We feel like we’re more than adequate on the mound and this team will score some runs.”

New workouts: One of Price’s first actions as coach was implementing early-morning workouts. Players run and work on conditioning and agility drills at 6:30 a.m. each day and lift weights in the afternoon. They also take part in individual workouts daily.

“It’s a lot more high intensity and a lot harder,” senior infielder Casey Spanish said, “but I think the guys are getting a lot more out of it. It’s a lot more commitment this year, which is what we need. It’s been great.”

Baseball in paradise: The Jayhawks open the season on the road against Hawaii-Hilo with a six-game, three-day series beginning Jan. 24. The teams will play three doubleheaders, with each game scheduled for seven innings. None of the games will count against the NCAA maximum number of games allowed.

Price said he is defraying part of the cost of the trip by busing to Little Rock, Ark., receiving some money from Louisiana State University for the trip to Baton Rouge and a bat contract with the Easton company.

Injury update: Sophomore left-hander Chris Jones underwent surgery on his pitching elbow early last week and is expected out four to six weeks.

“That’s a devastating blow,” Price said. “I think everybody else is in pretty good shape. We’ve been taking it easy with our pitchers and we’re trying to ease into it so we don’t hurt anybody.”