As the Kansas University men’s basketball team charges toward another Big 12 championship and 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, several other KU programs that get far less attention are starting to follow in the elite hoops program’s footsteps.

Last year alone, nine of KU’s 16 varsity sports were represented in postseason play in one way or another, with six full teams making their respective NCAA tournaments and three others sending individuals to compete on the national stage.

Not bad for a so-called basketball school.

Several members of the KU baseball team, which opens the season Friday at No. 2 LSU, said finding a way to ride the wave of success that has hit the department was a big part of the motivation for qualifying for last year’s NCAA regional in Louisville.

“Absolutely,” said junior second baseman Colby Wright. “That’s a huge part of it. I think we’re all starting to kind of feed off of each other, with that, ‘Hey, look what we can do’ mentality. We see each other in the halls and it’s fun to come in and say, ‘Hey, great job’ or ‘Look at what soccer’s doing, look at what baseball’s doing.'”

Wright, along with seniors Justin Protacio and Dakota Smith, all gave at least some of the credit for the recent rise in postseason appearances — which includes back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16 by the women’s basketball team (2012 and 2013) and three straight trips to the NCAA tournament by KU volleyball (2012-14) — to KU athletic director Sheahon Zenger and the bar he set for the department.

“He’s been great to us, letting us travel a little more and getting us sponsorships,” Smith said. “Not letting him down is kind of a big thing. You want to do what he wants you to do. When we win, he helps us out.”

Of course, there’s more to the desire to win and advance to postseason play than making the AD or head coach happy. Protacio said reaching an NCAA regional last season was the result of three years of hard work. And now that they’ve gotten that far, the Jayhawks are hoping this season’s junior- and senior-laden squad will be able to repeat the feat.

“It’s expected to a degree,” said senior left fielder Connor McKay. “And I think it’s a perfect goal for us. It’s just enough within reach and yet also challenging enough that we know we have to play solid baseball all year to get it done.”

With a tough opening series on the docket and eight dog-fight Big 12 weekends from March 27 through May 17, the Jayhawks should have no problem staying focused in what head coach Ritch Price calls “one of the two toughest conferences in America.”

But a little extra motivation never hurt anyone. And, thanks to the accomplishments turned in by various teams throughout the KU athletic department, this group of Jayhawks has two reasons to make another run.