Barry University is hoping Price is right for its baseball program

DJ Price briefly played pro baseball in Australia, and, during that time, he spotted exactly one kangaroo.

Well, part of a kangaroo.

“I was playing center field for the Toowoomba Rangers of the Greater Brisbane League,” Price said. “All of a sudden, i saw the head of a kangaroo that was hopping just beyond the fence. It had to be a big sucker because it was a 10-foot fence.”

Two decades later, Price, now 45, is making his own big leap as he is the first-year head coach at Barry University.

Previously, he was Barry’s junior varsity coach; he was an assistant at Division III Lehman College; and he ran the New York-based Highlanders Baseball Academy.

But when Barry – an NCAA Division II program -- opens its season at home on Jan. 31 against Wingate, Price will be a college varsity head coach for the first time.

“I know I’m capable of being a head coach,” said Price, who ran Barry’s JV from the 2001 season to 2004. “I’ve learned a lot from every level I’ve been at.”

That includes learning from previous Barry coach Juan Ranero, who in 2023 led the Bucs to a 35-19 record and a super-regional berth for the first time in program history.

Last season, Barry slumped a bit to a 28-22 record, and Ranero is now coaching high school baseball in Georgia at Westminster Christian Academy.

Price, a native of New York City, played Division I baseball as an Iona outfielder.

His claim to fame – so far at least – is that he is the nephew of Tony Price, who was the leading scorer for Penn in 1979 when the Quakers made it to the men’s basketball Final Four, losing to Magic Johnson and the Michigan State Spartans.

DJ Price, meanwhile, said he felt the need to apply for the job when Ranero stepped down.

“I love this program,” Price said. “I feel rooted here, and I feel responsible for the kids we recruited.

“I want to see them grow and not be put off because a coach from outside the program came in.”

For 2025, Barry has been picked by a poll of Sunshine State Conference coaches to finish eighth in the 11-team league.

Price is not arguing the prognostication.

“We lost our top three starting pitchers and our closer,” Price said. “I get it. They (rival coaches) don’t know what we have.”

Tampa, which in 2024 won its ninth Division II national championship, has been picked to again take the SSC. Tampa been picked to finish first in 18 of the past 19 polls, and the Spartans have won 23 league titles overall.

Price said coaching stability is the key to Tampa’s success.

“They have a system,” Price said. “They know the types of players they want, and they get them.

“That’s what we need to create here, and I think we’re getting close to being on their level.”

One key is the JV program, which is not something every college has, and it’s something Barry started in 2019.

Including the JV, Barry has about 80 players in its program. And, according to Price, about 25-to-30 percent of those players move up to the varsity level.

“With the transfer portal, college players have gotten older,” Price said. “Freshmen often need a year or two to get stronger. They need at-bats or innings pitched on JV.”

A great example of what a JV program can do for a player is Barry right-hander Billy Eich, a 6-7, 225-pounder from Tampa with a fastball that ranges from 93-to-95 mph.

“He’s everything the pro scouts are looking for,” Price said. “He’s a big kid, and he has worked hard.

“When you have a JV, you get hungry kids. Nothing is given to them. They have to earn everything.”

The same can be said for Price – from his kangaroo days in Australia to now getting his shot as a Division II head coach.