Manhattan ? Jim Wooldridge will be back on the Kansas State sideline next season after coaching the men’s basketball team to its first winning season in six years.

Wooldridge, 68-77 in five seasons at Kansas State, signed a two-year contract extension last year.

“I remain wholly committed to continuing the progress we have made and firmly believe that we are moving in a positive direction,” Wooldridge said Tuesday.

“We were one of the youngest teams in the Big 12 this past season and I think we are very excited about the future prospects for our program.”

Kansas State went 17-12 this season, but the Wildcats were only 6-10 in the Big 12 Conference. They weren’t invited to play in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT, leaving KSU out of the postseason for the sixth consecutive year.

“Over the last 24 hours, that’s really been the only disappointment,” Wooldridge said. “We were very disappointed in the fact that we didn’t make the NIT tournament.”

Wooldridge met with athletic director Tim Weiser and Kansas State President Jon Wefald on Tuesday morning to discuss his future.

“After a thorough review of our men’s basketball program, it was clear that there are good things happening and enough progress being made that it is only prudent to give Jim and his staff more time to continue the building process,” Weiser said in a statement.

After opening the season 13-4, the Wildcats struggled through a six-game losing streak midway through the Big 12 schedule. They won four of their last six games, including a 68-62 victory over Texas A&M in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.

But the Wildcats lost three times this past season to Big 12 co-champion Kansas University, bringing Wooldridge’s record against the Jayhawks to 0-11.

Kansas State will lose only two players from its regular rotation next season, and will return four starters who were either freshmen or sophomores.