Kansas University baseball coach Ritch Price announced on Friday that longtime assistant coach Ryan Graves was elevated to associate head coach.

Graves will continue to coordinate the Kansas pitching staff and also be the position coach for the team’s catchers.

“We’re promoting coach Graves to associate head coach to reward him for his commitment, loyalty and the success of our pitching staff,” Price said. “Ryan has a proven track record of preparing players to succeed at both the collegiate as well as the professional level. He plays an extremely important role keeping our program at the top 25 level.”

Graves is entering his ninth season at Kansas and his 12th overall under Price. The 2011 season will be Graves’ sixth as the team’s pitching coach after working with the team’s catchers and serving as the recruiting coordinator during his first three seasons at KU.