Ben Wierzba - Women's Basketball Coach - Mercer University Athletics

Ben Wierzba

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
wierzba_bt@mercer.edu
Phone:
(478) 301-5212

Hired at Mercer: 2015
Coaching Accolades at Mercer:

2020-21 – Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach
- Guided Mercer to its third NCAA Tournament berth since 2018 after downing Wofford 60-38 in the SoCon Tournament Championship game, setting a new conference record for fewest points allowed in a title game
- Instructed Shannon Titus to her second consecutive SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honor as she became the first player in program history to be named the conference’s best defender multiple times
- Titus’ 73 steals led the SoCon and ranked sixth nationally, while her 41 blocks were the third-most in the conference
- Titus also became Mercer’s 27th 1,000-point scorer and the third during Wierzba’s tenure
- Coached junior Amoria Neal-Tysor to a breakout season offensively as she was the second-leading scorer in the SoCon after averaging 16.8 points per game while shooting 43.0 percent from the field (156-of-363) and 37.9 percent from beyond-the-arc (55-of-145)
- Neal-Tysor went off for 25.7 points per game in the SoCon Tournament while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor (29-of-64) and 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from beyond-the-arc, earning her the distinction of the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player
- The Bears led the SoCon in assist-to-turnover ratio, total assists, assists per game, blocks, blocks per game, fewest total turnovers, fewest turnovers per game, total rebounds, scoring margin, scoring offense, steals and turnover margin
2019-20 – Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach
- Aided Mercer to its sixth-consecutive SoCon Semifinals appearance after taking down 2-seeded Chattanooga 63-55 for Mercer’s first-ever tournament win over the Mocs
- Instructed the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in Shannon Titus, who put together one of the best defensive seasons in program history
- Titus became the first Mercer player with 75+ steals and 50+ blocks in the same season and was the only player in Division I to accomplish that feat
- Titus’ 83 steals ranked 21st in the country, while her 60 blocks was the 37th-most
- The Bears led the SoCon in blocks, blocks per game, steals, steals per game and turnovers forced while ranking 14th nationally in blocks
2018-19 – Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach
- Helped lead Mercer to its second-straight NCAA Division I Tournament berth after clinching the SoCon Tournament title
- Guided the Bears to another perfect, 14-0 SoCon season - extending the streak to 34 straight regular season conference wins and winning their fourth straight regular season league title
- Assisted KeKe Calloway and Amanda Thompson to SoCon Player of the Year honors as selected by the media and coaches associations, respectively
- Thompson not only performed at a high level on the court but in the classroom as well as she was named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American
- Coached a Mercer team that had the second-fewest turnovers and the second-lowest turnover per game average in the country
- Under Wierzba, the Bears led the SoCon in nine statistical categories as a team - including assist-turnover ratio, assists, assists per game, fewest turnovers, field-goal percentage, field-goal percentage defense, turnovers per game and won-lost percentage
- Oversaw Calloway as she led the league in points scored (593) and field goals made (224)
2017-18 – Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach
- Aided coaching the Bears to a program-record 30 wins, guiding Mercer to the program’s first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament berth
- Helped Mercer to a perfect 14-0 conference record, claiming the regular season SoCon title for the third consecutive season while also collecting the program’s first SoCon Tournament Title
- Watched the Bears’ offense lead the conference in assists (538), assists per game (16.3), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.78), fewest turnovers (303), field-goal percentage (43.7), scoring offense (70.7) and scoring margin (15.8)
- Coached SoCon Player of the Year and WNBA Draftee in Kahlia Lawrence
- Oversaw Lawrence, Sydni Means and KeKe Calloway on being named to the SoCon First Team All-Conference
- Under Wierzba’s guidance, Lawrence ranked first in the conference in field goal attempts (566), field goals made (253), total points (636) and points per game (19.3)
- Oversaw Means in leading the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.80), while ranking first in the conference in assists (264), and assists per game (8.0)
- Guided Calloway as she led the conference in three pointers made (99) and threes made per game (3.0)
2016-17 – Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach
- Helped coach the Bears to a 25-7 record, setting a program record for the most wins in the NCAA DI era.
- Aided Mercer to a WNIT berth, competing in the postseason for the third consecutive season.
- Helped lead the Bears to a 12-2 conference record, claiming the regular season SoCon title for the second consecutive season.
- Wierzba’s tutelage of the offense helped Mercer to finish first in the conference in scoring offense (65.8), assists per game (14.3) and scoring margin (9.1).
- Coached SoCon Player of the Year in Kahlia Lawrence as well as SoCon All-Conference First Team member, Sydni Means.
- Lawrence finished second in the conference in scoring (18.0), while Means led the league in assists (216), assists per game (6.8), assist-to-turnover ratio (3.5).
2015-16 – Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach
- Helped coach the Bears to a 24-9 record, including a 12-2 SoCon mark.
- Mercer finished the season second in the conference in scoring with 64.5 points per game and third in field goal percentage (.401).
- Coached the SoCon Player of the Year in Kahlia Lawrence as well as the SoCon Freshman of the Year in Linnea Rosendal.
- Lawrence finished the season second in the conference in points per game (18.0), while Rosendal finished second in three-point field goals made per game (1.97).

Collegiate Coaching Experience:

2015-Present – Mercer University
- Assistant Coach
2014-15 – SIU Edwardsville
- Assistant Men’s Coach
  - Led SIU Edwardsville to the most Division I wins and Ohio Valley Conference wins in program history
2010-14 – University of Illinois Springfield
- Head Men’s Basketball Coach
  - Took teams to first GLVC tournament appearance (2012) and first GLVC tournament win (2014)
  - Three GLVC tournament appearances (2012-14)
  - Coached one first team all-conference winners, two second team all-conference honorees and two all-defensive team members
2007-10 – University of Evansville
- Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach
2006-07 – SIU Edwardsville
- Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach
2004-06 – Lewis University
- Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach
2002-04 – United States Military Academy
- Director of Basketball Operations
2001-02 – St. Joseph’s College
- Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach
2000-01 – University of North Dakota
- Graduate Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach
1999-00 – SIU Edwardsville
- Student Assistant for Men’s Basketball