2025–26 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

2025–26 Mercer Bears men's basketball
2025–26 Mercer Bears men's basketball
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	19–13 (11–7 SoCon)
Head coach	Ryan Ridder (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Reed Ridder; Jonathan Mitchell; Daniel Mondragon; Langston Hall;
Home arena	Hawkins Arena

2025–26 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East Tennessee State	13	–	5	.722	23	–	11	.676
Wofford	11	–	7	.611	19	–	13	.594
Samford	11	–	7	.611	18	–	14	.563
Mercer	11	–	7	.611	19	–	13	.594
Western Carolina	10	–	8	.556	15	–	16	.484
Furman †	10	–	8	.556	22	–	13	.629
UNC Greensboro	9	–	9	.500	15	–	19	.441
Chattanooga	7	–	11	.389	13	–	19	.406
The Citadel	7	–	11	.389	11	–	22	.333
VMI	1	–	17	.056	6	–	26	.188

† 2026 SoCon tournament winner

The 2025–26 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by second-year head coach Ryan Ridder, played their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon).

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2024–25 season 14–19, 6–12 in SoCon play, to finish in eighth place.^[1] They defeated Western Carolina,^[2] before falling to top-seeded Chattanooga in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament.^[3]

Preseason

On October 1, 2025, the SoCon released their preseason coaches poll. Mercer was picked to finish eighth in the conference.^[4]

Preseason rankings

SoCon Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Points
1	Chattanooga	77 (5)
2	Furman	73 (5)
3	Samford	62
4	East Tennessee State	61
5	UNC Greensboro	43
6	VMI	41
7	Western Carolina	32
8	Mercer	30
9	Wofford	21
10	The Citadel	10
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[4]

Preseason All-SoCon Team

No players were named the Preseason All-SoCon Team.^[4]

Roster

2025–26 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G/F	0	NJ Nganga	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Fr	BTS Prep	Dallas, Texas
G	1	Zaire Williams	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	GS	Wagner	Brooklyn, New York
F	2	Connor Serven	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	GS	Virginia Tech	Prairie City, Illinois
G	3	Quinton Perkins II	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS So	Indian Hills Community College	Dallas, Texas
G	5	Kyle Cuffe Jr.	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Sr	Syracuse	Harlem, New York
G	6	Baraka Okojie	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Memphis	Brampton, Ontario
F	8	Bendji Pierre	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	San Diego	Irvington, New Jersey
G	10	Tristan Gross	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Stetson	St. Petersburg, Florida
G	10	Brady Shoulders	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Lyon County High School	Eddyville, Kentucky
F	12	Petras Padegimas	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS So	Dayton	Kaunas, Lithuania
G/F	14	TJ Grant	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Veterans High School	Warner Robins, Georgia
F	15	Alex Koch	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Cedar Shoals High School	Athens, Georgia
G	22	Jaydon Cole	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Milton High School	Milton, Georgia
G	23	Braeden Carlsen	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Fr	Wauconda High School	Wauconda, Illinois
C	26	Armani Mighty	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	RS Jr	Central Michigan	Toronto, Ontario
F	30	Pero Zubac	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Fr	HKK Zrinjski Mostar	Čitluk, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Head coach

Ryan Ridder (Embry–Riddle)

Assistant coach(es)

Reed Ridder (Embry–Riddle)
Jonathan Mitchell (Rutgers)
Daniel Mondragon (Embry–Riddle)
Langston Hall (Mercer)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 24, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, SECN+		at No. 18 Tennessee	L 61–76	0–1	Thompson–Boling Arena (18,559) Knoxville, TN
November 5, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		LaGrange	W 101–62	1–1	Hawkins Arena (825) Macon, GA
November 9, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Lipscomb SoCon/ASUN Challenge	W 92–77	2–1	Hawkins Arena (604) Macon, GA
November 15, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Winthrop	L 69–105	2–2	Winthrop Coliseum (2,637) Rock Hill, SC
November 22, 2025* 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Kentucky SoCon/ASUN Challenge	W 95–83	3–2	Baptist Health Arena (1,700) Richmond, KY
November 26, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Appalachian State	W 75–67	4–2	Hawkins Arena (709) Macon, GA
November 29, 2025* 4:00 pm, FloCollege		at Elon	W 91–84	5–2	Schar Center (1,026) Elon, NC
December 2, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Georgia State	W 78–67	6–2	Hawkins Arena (955) Macon, GA
December 7, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Oglethorpe	W 100–50	7–2	Hawkins Arena (626) Macon, GA
December 13, 2025* 3:00 pm, ACCNX		at Clemson	L 63–70	7–3	Littlejohn Coliseum (6,129) Clemson, SC
December 17, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UCF	L 63–81	7–4	Addition Financial Arena (5,195) Orlando, FL
December 20, 2025* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Washington State	L 78–84	7–5	Beasley Coliseum (2,374) Pullman, WA
December 28, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Baptist (FL)	W 122–49	8–5	Hawkins Arena (459) Macon, GA
SoCon regular season
December 31, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Furman	L 72–74	8–6 (0–1)	Timmons Arena (2,117) Greenville, SC
January 3, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at East Tennessee State	L 71–77	8–7 (0–2)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,122) Johnson City, TN
January 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		The Citadel	W 101–63	9–7 (1–2)	Hawkins Arena (1,433) Macon, GA
January 10, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Wofford	W 109–97	10–7 (2–2)	Hawkins Arena (1,258) Macon, GA
January 15, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at VMI	W 77–67	11–7 (3–2)	Cameron Hall (1,276) Lexington, VA
January 17, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at UNC Greensboro	W 102–92	12–7 (4–2)	First Horizon Coliseum (1,368) Greensboro, NC
January 21, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Carolina	W 88–76	13–7 (5–2)	Hawkins Arena (1,084) Macon, GA
January 24, 2026 11:00 am, ESPN+		at Wofford	L 77–80	13–8 (5–3)	Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (2,054) Spartanburg, SC
January 29, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UNC Greensboro	W 95–77	14–8 (6–3)	Hawkins Arena (973) Macon, GA
January 31, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		VMI	W 95–81	15–8 (7–3)	Hawkins Arena (1,520) Macon, GA
February 5, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Chattanooga	L 75–79	15–9 (7–4)	McKenzie Arena (3,183) Chattanooga, TN
February 7, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Samford	L 49–69	15–10 (7–5)	Pete Hanna Center (1,521) Homewood, AL
February 11, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Furman	W 69–64	16–10 (8–5)	Hawkins Arena Macon, GA
February 14, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at The Citadel	W 70–54	17–10 (9–5)	McAlister Field House (1,171) Charleston, SC
February 19, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Chattanooga	L 90–94	17–11 (9–6)	Hawkins Arena (1,292) Macon, GA
February 21, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Samford	W 89–86	18–11 (10–6)	Hawkins Arena (1,138) Macon, GA
February 25, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Western Carolina	L 74–78	18–12 (10–7)	Ramsey Center (1,970) Cullowhee, NC
February 28, 2026 4:30 pm, ESPN+		East Tennessee State	W 82–76	19–12 (11–7)	Hawkins Arena (2,317) Macon, GA
SoCon tournament
March 7, 2026 8:30 pm, ESPN+	(4)	vs. (5) Western Carolina Quarterfinals	L 73–77	19–13	Harrah's Cherokee Center (4,768) Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[5]^[6]

References

^ "2024-25 Standings". SoCon. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
^ "Mercer wins in dramatic fashion, VMI claims first SoCon tourney win in four years". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
^ "48-point second half lifts Chattanooga Mocs to 76-61 win over Mercer in SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals". WRCB. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "SoCon men's hoops preseason all-conference team, poll announced". SoCon. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
^ "Mercer Bears 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Standings". SoCon. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

[2] "Mercer wins in dramatic fashion, VMI claims first SoCon tourney win in four years". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

[3] "48-point second half lifts Chattanooga Mocs to 76-61 win over Mercer in SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals". WRCB. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

[poll-4] "SoCon men's hoops preseason all-conference team, poll announced". SoCon. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

[5] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

[6] "Mercer Bears 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

Mercer Bears men's basketball
Venues	Porter Gym (1937–??) Macon Coliseum (19??–20??) Hawkins Arena (2004–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26