MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Last season, WVU baseball narrowly missed out on an NCAA Tournament bid. So far, this season has been a different story.

This week, WVU (22-7, 2-1) appears in NCAA Tournament projections from D1Baseball.com and Baseball America. In both projections, the Mountaineers are listed as a No. 2-seed in the Charlottesville region.

D1Baseball’s projection places West Virginia in the same region as Virginia, Maryland and Rider. The Mountaineers defeated Maryland 8-6 on the road in February. The Terps were the preseason favorite to win the Big 12.

West Virginia has reached the NCAA Tournament twice since 2017. The Mountaineers most recently qualified for the field of 64 in 2019. They hosted an NCAA regional that year for just the second time in program history.

Skipper Randy Mazey also led the team to a national tournament berth in 2017.

No postseason tournaments were played in 2020 due to the pandemic, which halted West Virginia’s season after 16 games.

WVU appears to have many of the pieces necessary to make the postseason. Second baseman JJ Wetherholt is producing some remarkable numbers this season. His 56 hits lead the country, and D1Baseball rates him as the top player in the country at his position.

Meanwhile, WVU’s pitching staff has been strong. Transfer Blaine Traxel’s four complete games also lead the nation.

West Virginia has won four of its last five games, including two of three on the road against Kansas State last weekend.

Big 12 play continues Friday when it hosts Kansas. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark.