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| Mercer head coach Ryan Ridder Instructs Connor Serven in 2025-26 Season |
Mercer (19-13, 11-7 SoCon/t-2ND)
Mercer would see a huge improvement in year two under Ryan Ridder, as the Bears improved by five wins and went from Ridder's first season in charge and went from the play-in round of the Southern Conference Tournament to playing in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
Unfortunately, for the second-straight year, the Bears would see their season end on quarterfinal Saturday, as the Bears lost a heartbreaker to No. 5 seeded Western Carolina in the quarterfinals of the tournament again this season.
Though the Bears were the No. 4 seed, they finished in a three-way tie for second-place in the SoCon standings. The Bears were outstanding at Hawkins Arena in 2025-26, making it easily the toughest venue in the Southern Conference last season, as the Bears finished 14-1 on their home floor last season.
The Bears featured one of the top inside-outside duos in the SoCon last season, with Baraka Okojie running the point guard position, while Armani Mighty was one of the league's most dominant big men, but both parlayed last season's all-conference success into big money in the transfer portal.
Okojie ranked second in the league in scoring, averaging 19.7 PPG and led the league in assists (5.3 APG), while Mighty was a second-team all-league selection and was the SoCon Co-Defensive Player of the Year following a campaign, which saw him lead the league in blocks with 54 swats last season.
The Bears were improved in nearly every area last season, finishing the season with the league's top overall offense in league games according to KenPom (120.2), while ranking second overall for the season behind only East Tennessee State in offensive efficiency (111.9).
As far as the defense was concerned, there was a pretty significant improvement thanks to Mighty. The Bears went from seventh in conference-only defense in 2024-25 (105.9) to fourth this past season (112.0). The Bears also finished fourth overall in total defensive efficiency (113.8).
The Bears have had two very different point guards in Ridder's two year at Mercer, with both putting up numbers and among the league's leading offensive threats, however, I would argue that last year's version--Baraka Okojie--was much better than the version point guard the Bears had two years ago--Ahmad Robinson.
The Bears have just three players remaining off last year's roster, and not only that, Ridder was also forced to replace four assistants during the off-season, as it was a busy off-season for Ridder heading into his third season at the helm.
Only Woody Taylor (Associate Head Coach) and Langston Hall return from last season's staff. New the Mercer staff this season are former Wofford assistant Tysor Anderson and Nashad Mackey are the two main additions to the coaching staff.
One thing is for sure, Mercer is here to stay as one of the top teams in the league, and with one of the best portal hauls in the league, the Bears should once again remain among a handful of teams that could end up winning the league in 2026-27.
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| PG Quinton Perkins II |
Portal Losses/Portal Adds and Returners
There is only a trio of players back off last year's roster, but two of the three players that return were significant pieces to the puzzle last season, which helped the Bears go from 14 wins in 2024-25 to 19 wins a year ago.
It all starts with guard Quinton Perkins II, who is the second-leading returning scorer from a year ago, averaging 8.9 PPG to go along with 1.6 RPG, as well as starting 16 of the 28 games he played in last season for the Bears.
Perkins II also turned out to be a reliable in a starting role for the Bears, as he logged 16 starts in the 28 games he saw action in last season for Mercer. He was among the team's best options as a perimeter threat last season, finishing the campaign with an impressive 40.8% (51-of-125) from three-point land last season.
Perkins finished out the season with some strong performances, highlighted by 10 games in which he posted double-figure scoring performances, posting 20 in a non-conference win at Eastern Kentucky, while putting together his best performance of the season in a late-season, 89-86, home win over Samford, as he posted 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, which included a season-high match four three-pointers, as he went 4-for-5 from downtown.
Perkins II could be in line to start at the point this coming season for Ridder's club and will be a significant piece to the backcourt puzzle. Perkins' best scoring performances came early in non-conference play, as he put together a big opening month to the season, highlighted by four-straight double-figure scoring performances, highlighted by that 20-point effort at EKU. In fact, Perkins II posted double-figure scoring efforts in six of the first eight games for the Bears and then had only three the rest of the season.
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| Junior Forward Brady Shoulders |
Brady Shoulders is Mercer's leading returning scorer and is a player that is the unquestioned leader of Ridder's team heading into the 2026-27 season. In an era when loyalty is a dime a dozen, Shoulders is one of the last remaining true real ones when it comes to staying the course instead of chasing the next greatest situation.
The 6-6 rising junior guard has stuck with Ridder every step of the way, having followed his head coach from UT-Martin to Macon when he took the Mercer job some three years ago. He's not once flirted with the transfer portal, and he's seen the fruits of that strong commitment to his head coach, as Shoulders has become arguably the most important piece Ridder has had to build around in each of his two previous seasons as the head coach.
Shoulders has started 53 times in 62 games he's logged action in over his two seasons in Macon, and he's been Mercer's unquestioned "glue guy" and he seemingly gave the Bears what they needed every night he stepped on the floor in the 2025-26 season. Shoulders is the type of player that likes games in which it's a defensive struggle and when his team has needed a big shot or rebound over the past two seasons, it's more often than not been Shoulders that has provided that key winning play or statistic.
In the 2025-26 season, the native of Eddyville, KY, finished the season averaging 9.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.7 APG, posting double-figure scoring performances in 14 games last season, which was highlighted by a season and career-high 21 points in a 77-71 league loss at East Tennessee State early on in SoCon play.
In that loss to ETSU, Shoulders also added eight rebounds and he connected on 7-of-11 shots from the field, which included a 4-for-6 effort from three-point range against what was the league's top defensive team a year ago. Shoulders also added 20 points and six boards in 36 minutes in a road win at VMI.
He turned in one of his most complete performances of the season in a mid-February clash against eventual SoCon Tournament champion Furman, helping lead the Bears to a key 69-64 home win at Hawkins Arena. In that contest, Shoulders posted a double-double with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
It ended up being the third of his three double-doubles over the course of the 2025-26 season, but it was a key steal and layup to get the Bears to within four (45-41), fueling a stretch for the Bears. After Furman missed a game-tying three late, it was a pair of Shoulders free throws that helped seal the five-point win for Mercer.
All told, Shoulders finished his sophomore campaign connecting on 43.7% (94-of-215) from the field for the season, while connecting on 33.3% (26-of-78) from three-point land, while connecting on 70.4% (57-of-81) from the free throw line. Shoulders was also one of the team's best defensive performers, leading the club with 49 steals and posted a total of eight blocks last season.
The one other returning player of last season's roster is a player that didn't factor in at all last season, but could play a role this season, in forward Petras Padegimas, who hasn't played since transferring in from Dayton following the 2023-24 season. After redshirting his first season in Macon, Padegimas spent last season recovering from an injury. He could be a factor in the front court rotation this season.
Now for the fun part, which is the pieces that Ridder has added around players like Perkins II and Shoulders, as he has quickly assembled a pair of teams in his previous two seasons as head coach, which have offensively been among the most efficient in the SoCon.
The Bears have been among the most efficient offenses in the SoCon in each of Ridder's first two seasons, and the Bears have led the league in overall possessions per game each of the past two. His 2025-26 Mercer team led the SoCon in scoring average this past season, as the Bears posted 82.7 PPG.
The key for Mercer and whether or not they can sustain the success of that 19-win team of a year ago likely won't be on the offensive end, but rather how quickly the players that Ridder has brought in from the transfer portal assimilate into the fold as a cohesive defensive unit. After having a team that did little in the way of defending in Ridder's first season back in 2024-25, there was steady improvement that was notable last season.
One of the reasons for that overall defensive improvement last season was the addition of a dominant big man, in Armani Mighty. Mighty, of course, went on to garner SoCon co-Defensive Player of the Year honors last season.
With Mighty now having moved on to ACC member Pittsburgh, the player Ridder hopes will step into a Mighty-type role in the paint is 6-11 Makoi Mabor Makoi, who transferred in from UNC Wilmington during the off-season. Ridder is excited about the prospects for having such a player
Makoi will have two seasons of eligibility remaining and was very much a developmental project in his first two seasons with the Seahawks, but now could be ready for a breakout type campaign with a fresh start in two years under his belt, following a similar tract to that of his predecessor Mighty.
In Makoi's two seasons at UNCW, he averaged just 1.6 PPG and 2.4 RPG, but at 6-11 and athletic, he could be a force as a rim protector in the SoCon. With his tremendous athleticism and size, the product of Rumbek, South Sudan by way of Gastonia, N.C. and Gaston Christian could equate well in a mid-major league like the SoCon. If Ridder and staff got this one right, it could instantly give Mercer one of the top frontcourts in the league once again this season.
Makoi is one of 12 newcomers to join the Mercer roster from either the transfer portal or as a freshman. In fact, Ridder has assembled a team with nine players out of the transfer portal and three freshmen as a part of his latest signing class.
Set to join Makoi as one of those potential impact players in front court from the transfer portal is another player with international roots, as Dimitrije Kovacevic joins the Bears roster from Wake Forest. The 6-8 redshirt freshman from Bosnia-Herzegovina will have four years of eligibility remaining, and possesses a high level of skill, with an excellent basketball IQ.
During his prep career, Kovacevic played for KK Real Beograd U19 and led his team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.3 PPG and 7.6 RPG. He posted a field goal percentage of 60%, while shooting just over 32% from three-point land. Like Makoi, Ridder and staff are taking a bit of a chance on Kovacevic, but more often than not, international guys have a good enough background prior to their arrival in the states that it should equate well to this level, especially in a league like the SoCon.
Also, in most instances with guys like Kovacevic, it's more that the previous program they were apart of--Wake Forest in this case--over-recruited his position, which instead of waiting for that opportunity to come about in this ever-changing escalator of the transfer portal from season-to-season, it made more sense to transfer down to a mid-major for a player like Kovacevic in order to compete for a starting position and significant playing time at a place like Mercer rather than wait around at a big program like Wake Forest.
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| Maine transfer forward Keelan Steele |
The third significant addition to the front court from the transfer portal is redshirt junior Keelan Steele out of the University of Maine. The 6-10, 230-lb native of Alton, Ontario is coming off his best season so far of his three with the Black Bears and looks to have a bright future ahead now with just the Bears in Macon.
During his redshirt sophomore season, Steele was a significant contributor in the front court rotation for a Maine program that struggled, stumbling to just an 8-24 overall mark. Steele started 23 of the 24 games he logged action in a year ago for Maine, and he finished the season averaging 8.1 PPG and 4.9 RPG. All told, Steele ended up starting 55 of the 60 games he was a part of with the Black Bears' program.
He will have a chance to garner a starting spot right away in Macon, and could add some significant rim protection, as he blocked a total of 43 shots in 60 total games over the course of three seasons in Orono, including having swatted away 42 of those in each of the past two campaigns. He averaged a career-best 20.5 minutes-per-game this past season at Maine, posting an outstanding 60.5% field goal percentage (75-of-124).
Steele spent his first season as a Black Bear working through an injury that cost him his true freshman season. Two other areas that stand out for Steele in his most recent season of college basketball is his ability as a passer, contributing 21 assists, while finishing the 2025-26 season with 19 steals.
Mercer's final front court commitment from the portal comes via the JUCO route--a route which Ridder knows especially well--as 6-8 Sawyer Mayhugh is one of three to join the Bears roster from the JUCO ranks, and he comes from a familiar place, as Mayhugh becomes the third Ridder commitment to sign to play for the Bears out of Indian Hills CC in Davenport, IA. You can officially call it a pipeline.
With Quinton Perkins II already having been a huge success to come out of that institution, as well as countless others that have played their basketball in the Southern Conference, like former Chattanooga standout Johnny Taylor in the mid-late 1990s, you always know what type of player you're getting when they come out of a basketball factory like Indian Hills CC.
Mayhugh is yet another big man that will give the Bears even more size, as there was a huge emphasis on that in this latest recruiting haul from the transfer portal. The 6-9, 225-lb redshirt junior will have three seasons of eligibility remaining at Mercer. He comes off his final season at Indian Hills CC after averaging 8.7 PPG and sported a 50.3% shooting percentage from the field last season, appearing in 27 contests and making nine starts.
He ended the 2025-26 season as a NJCAA Honorable Mention honoree, posting his top performance of the season in helping Indian Hills to a 93-73 win over Dodge City by posting a season-high 25 points. The Weston, MA., product also posted 4.6 rebounds-per-game last season. Mayhugh has a chance to be an impact player this season in the rotation with his size and notable efficiency underneath.
The first of the backcourt additions from the portal is also from Indian Hills CC, in 6-3 junior guard KJ LaMonte. LaMonte is an athletic combo guard that will fill a role similar to that of Zaire Williams, who transferred in for his final year of eligibility prior to the 2025-26 season out of Radford.
LaMonte was an outstanding combo guard in his two seasons at Indian Hills, garnering second-team NJCAA All-America honors in 2025-26 and was the ICCAC Player of the Year. He appeared in all 31 games last season, including seven starts, averaging 11.7 PPG and shooting 50.7% from the field and led the ICCAC in free throw percentage, connecting at an impressive 85% from the charity stripe on the season.
He finished the season with 21 double-figure scoring performances, posting a season-high 19 points on two occasions. He rounded out his complete game and stat line, averaging 3.1 RPG, 2.5 APG and on the defensive end, added 1.5 SPG. LaMonte averaged in double figures in both of his seasons at Indian Hills, having posted 10.4 PPG and played in 28 games, with 14 starts as a true freshman.
Joining LaMonte as a combo guard in the backcourt out of the transfer portal is 6-4 redshirt junior Dawson Barr, who comes to Mercer out of NCAA Division II Embry-Riddle in Dayton Beach, FL. Barr will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at Mercer, and he comes off a sophomore campaign logging action in 27 games, including having made 25 starts and finished second on the Eagles' roster by averaging 13.4 PPG in the 2025-26 season.
He had several superlative performances among his 19 games in double figures last season, which included a career-high 24 points in a game against Barry. Barr is also a guard that loves to get after the basketball on the backboard, as he pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds in a game against Valdosta State.
Barr is an excellent defender and shooter, as he led the Eagles with 27 steals last season, while shooting a blistering 43.8% from three-point range last season, which included a 6-for-10 performance from three in a game against Rollins last season. That kind of shooting acumen will give Barr not a chance to see big time minutes, if not start, in the 2026-27 season.
Both 5-9 point guard Shane Cherry (Tallahassee State) and 6-4 combo guard Derek Goodman (Ohio Dominican) round out the additions from the transfer portal for the Bears. Cherry will have three seasons of eligibility remaining, and the diminutive point guard will have a chance to start right away, as he will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
He saw action in 30 games, including 27 starts at Tallahassee State last season, averaging 19.2 PPG to lead the team, shooting 41.9% from the field and 38.9% from three-point range. In a game against Chipola College during his freshman campaign, Cherry posted a career-high 36 points, which marked one of four 30-point outings last season at the JUCO level.
He posted 20 or more points 14 times and scored in double figures in 26 out of 30 games in his only season at Tallahassee State. His quickness and ability to score at all three levels makes him a likely competitor for the starting job at the point in the 2026-27 season for Ridder's club. If anything, having both Perkins II and Cherry on the floor at the same time could give the Bears two supreme ballhandlers and perimeter threats on the floor at the same time, and that would be a luxury Mercer hasn't enjoyed all that often in Ridder's first two seasons at Mercer.
Derek Goodman rounds out the newcomers from the transfer portal, coming from NCAA Division II Ohio Dominican where he will have two years of eligibility remaining. The 6-4 junior combo guard saw a seven-point scoring improvement from his freshman season to sophomore campaign, as he finished the season by going from 8.9 PPG as a true freshman to averaging 15.8 PPG in the 2025-26 campaign.
Goodman started 55 out of 57 games in his two seasons at Ohio Dominican, posting a season-high 25 points in a 91-76 home win vs. Hillsdale, as he finished 9-of-15 shooting from the field and was an impressive 5-for-8 from three-point range.
Goodman is another outstanding perimeter shooter, finishing the 2025-26 season shooting a blistering 43.6% (75-of-172) from three-point range last season and was a 41% shooter from three-point range in two seasons at Ohio Dominican. Goodman finished the 2025-26 season with 23 double-figure scoring games, including eight games with 20 or more points.
Freshman/Walk-on Additions
While eight additions have been made to the Mercer from the transfer portal, come to Macon from the high school ranks, with all four rookie performers expected to add depth to the backcourt.
The first of the impressive additions made to the backcourt is 6-0 guard Josh Jackson, who comes to Mercer out nearby Houston High School in Warner Robins, GA. The newly inked addition can flat out score the basketball, and he will have a chance to come in and compete for time in the rotation at the point guard spot as soon as the upcoming campaign.
Jackson was outstanding during his senior season, as he ended up scoring 466 points and 51 three-pointers during his senior season. He ended up averaging 16 PPG in his senior season and added 3.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, and 1.1 SPG. He helped Houston to a 22-7 record and a first-place finish in its region (9-1) during his senior season.
Two more international additions could be players that add depth to the backcourt for the upcoming season are both Manos Koveos (Rhodes, Greece) and Harrison Lyttle (Sydney, Australia), who are both walk-ons that will look to break into the rotation for the Bears this coming season. Koveous spent two seasons at Georgia State and also played at Trinity Christian College in Chicago in the 2023-24 season where he spent his freshman campaign.
Lyttle joins the program as a true freshman out of the IMG Academy, while 6-5 combo guard/ forward Ryder Cate joins the Mercer as a redshirt sophomore walk-on from Clarendon College where he averaged 8.8 PPG and 3.4 RPG in only 11 games, as he was limited due to injury.
Mercer Early outlook for 2026-27
There might not be a better coach in the league at reloading a roster, addressing team needs and fitting the puzzle pieces in almost perfect symmetry and at the same time helping keep his program competitive at the top of a tough league than Ryan Ridder, and he's been able to do that at wherever he's been a head coach, whether that spot be at Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC or at his most recent stop prior to Mercer at UT-Martin in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Ridder has again cleaned up in the portal, focusing on size, while taking a few chances on guys that have the tools and potential to be top-notch big men in this league, much like Armani Mighty was last season for the Bears.
Keelan Steele and Makoi Mabor Makoi have a chance to put up some big numbers in the SoCon as the newest big men in Macon, while Shane Cherry is an x-factor and dynamic scorer at point guard. He's more like Ahmad Robinson than Baraka Okojie, but he has the good qualities that Robinson possessed without the carelessness with the basketball.
With Brady Shoulders and Quentin Perkins II back as the veterans from last season, and with those two only going to be even more improved as offensive threats this season, it will mesh nicely with the incoming talent. This is a team that I expect to not only be competitive at the top of the SoCon, but like Tennessee Tech, will be a dark horse to win it all in Asheville.
Bears Breakdown 2026-27
Players With Starting Experience Lost: (6)--G-Baraka Okojie (31 starts, 19.7 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.1 RPG, First-Team All-SoCon/transferred to George Mason); C-Armani Mighty (32 starts, 13.2 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 64.5 FG%, league-leading 54 blocks, SoCon co-Defensive Player of the Year, Second-Team All-SoCon/transferred to Pittsburgh); G-Zaire Williams (31 starts, 13.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, team-leading 71 three-pointers made, 36.0% from three-point range/out of eligibility); G Kyle Cuffe Jr. (14 starts, 7.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG/transferred to St. John's); F/C Connor Serven (5 starts , 6.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG/out eligibility); F-TJ Grant (1 start, 1.0 PPG, 1.4 RPG/out of eligibility)
Others Significant Losses: (2)-G/F Tristan Gross (4.2 PPG, 2.0 RPG/transferred to Radford); F/C Bendji Pierre (3.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG)
Best Returning Player: F-Brady Shoulders (9.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 46 steals)
Potential Breakout Player in 2026-27: G-Quinton Perkins II (8.9 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 40.8 3PT FG%);
Best Transfer Portal Get: PG-Shane Cherry (Tallahassee State)
Potential Glue Guy: F-Brady Shoulders (9.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 46 steals)
Best Freshman Addition: G-Josh Jackson (Houston HS/Warner Robins GA)
Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: A
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