2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	11–11 (4–5 SoCon)
Head coach	Ryan Ridder (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Jonathan Mitchell Daniel Mondragon Reed Ridder Ben Whitherspoon
Home arena	Hawkins Arena

2024–25 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Samford	7	–	1		.875			17	–	4		.810
UNC Greensboro	6	–	2		.750			13	–	8		.619
Chattanooga	5	–	3		.625			13	–	8		.619
East Tennessee State	5	–	3		.625			12	–	9		.571
Wofford	5	–	3		.625			11	–	10		.524
Furman	4	–	4		.500			16	–	5		.762
Mercer	3	–	5		.375			10	–	11		.476
VMI	3	–	5		.375			9	–	12		.429
Western Carolina	2	–	6		.250			6	–	13		.316
The Citadel	0	–	8		.000			5	–	14		.263
† 2025 SoCon tournament winner As of January 25, 2025

The 2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represents Mercer University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by first-year head coach Ryan Ridder, play their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia as a member of the Southern Conference.

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2023–24 season 16–17, 8–10 in SoCon play to finish in eighth place. They defeated The Citadel in the first round of the SoCon tournament,[1] before losing to Samford in the quarterfinals.[2] Following the conclusion of the season, head coach Greg Gary and the school parted ways.[3]

Roster

2023–24 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Jah Quinones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Orlando, FL G/F 1 Cam Bryant 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Camilla, GA G 2 Jah Nze 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Oviedo, FL G 3 Tyler Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Athens, GA G 4 Ahmad Robinson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr West Orange, NJ F 6 Alex Holt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Lexington, NC G 9 Angel Montas Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So La Romana, DR C 10 Alex Koch 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Athens, GA G 11 Brady Shoulders 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Eddyville, KY F 12 Petras Padegimas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Kaunas, Lithuania F 14 TJ Grant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Warner Robins, GA G/F 22 Laurynas Vaistaras 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Plungė, Lithuania G 24 Braeden Carlsen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Wauconda, IL F 33 Marcus Overstreet 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Chicago, IL	Head coach Ryan Ridder (Embry–Riddle) Assistant coach(es) Jonathan Mitchell (Rutgers) Daniel Mondragon (Embry–Riddle) Reed Ridder (Embry–Riddle) Ben Witherspoon (Embry–Riddle) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 17, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Virginia–Lynchburg	W 125–54	1–0	Hawkins Arena (2,053) Macon, GA
November 11, 2024* 9:00 p.m., FS2		at DePaul	L 64–95	1–1	Wintrust Arena (2,913) Chicago, IL
November 13, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Trinity Baptist	W 101–43	2–1	Hawkins Arena (1,219) Macon, GA
November 16, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at South Alabama	L 66–75	2–2	Mitchell Center (1,652) Mobile, AL
November 21, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		at South Carolina Fort Myers Tip-Off campus game	L 72–84	2–3	Colonial Life Arena (11,054) Columbia, SC
November 25, 2024* 1:30 p.m., PTB Live		vs. Jacksonville Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Semifinals	W 90–89 ^OT	3–3	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (592) Fort Myers, FL
November 26, 2024* 1:30 p.m., PTB Live		vs. Miami (OH) Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Championship	L 72–75	3–4	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (610) Fort Myers, FL
December 4, 2024* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+		West Georgia	W 86–72	4–4	Hawkins Arena (1,309) Macon, GA
December 8, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Stetson	W 89–83 ^OT	5–4	Edmunds Center (650) DeLand, FL
December 15, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Chicago State	W 75–63	6–4	Hawkins Arena (812) Macon, GA
December 18, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Queens	L 66–73	6–5	Curry Arena (512) Charlotte, NC
December 21, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Winthrop	L 97–102	6–6	Winthrop Coliseum (1,587) Rock Hill, SC
December 28, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Georgia State	W 71–68	7–6	GSU Convocation Center (1,710) Atlanta, GA
SoCon regular season
January 1, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Chattanooga	W 99–94 ^OT	8–6 (1–0)	Hawkins Arena (1,007) Macon, GA
January 4, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at VMI	W 70–67	9–6 (2–0)	Cameron Hall (536) Lexington, VA
January 8, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		East Tennessee State	L 68–70	9–7 (2–1)	Hawkins Arena (2,217) Macon, GA
January 12, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Carolina	L 82–85	9–8 (2–2)	Ramsey Center (1,420) Cullowhee, NC
January 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Samford	L 74–75	9–9 (2–3)	Hawkins Arena (2,219) Macon, GA
January 18, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Wofford	L 49–69	9–10 (2–4)	Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,925) Spartanburg, SC
January 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UNC Greensboro	W 79–78	10–10 (3–4)	First Horizon Coliseum (807) Greensboro, NC
January 25, 2025 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		Furman	L 74–79	10–11 (3–5)	Hawkins Arena (3,272) Macon, GA
January 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		The Citadel	W 80–46	11–11 (4–5)	Hawkins Arena (2,752) Macon, GA
February 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Chattanooga			McKenzie Arena  Chattanooga, TN
February 5, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Samford			Pete Hanna Center  Homewood, AL
February 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Wofford			Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
February 12, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Furman			Timmons Arena  Greenville, SC
February 15, 2025 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		VMI			Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
February 19, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at The Citadel			McAlister Field House  Charleston, SC
February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UNC Greensboro			Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
February 26, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at East Tennessee State			Freedom Hall Civic Center  Johnson City, TN
March 1, 2025 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		West Carolina			Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
SoCon tournament
March 7–10, 2025*		vs. TBD			Harrah's Cherokee Center  Asheville, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[4][5]

References

1. "Big Offensive Day Leads Bears Past The Citadel". Mercer University Athletics. March 8, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
2. "Mercer Falls To Samford In Southern Conference Quarterfinals". Mercer University Athletics. March 9, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
3. McGouirk, Brandon (March 11, 2024). "Bears bid farewell as Mercer's Coach Gary not to return next basketball season". WGXA. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
4. "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
5. "Mercer Bears 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 17, 2024.