Reed Ridder - Men's Basketball Coach - Mercer University Athletics

Reed Ridder

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
ridder_r02@mercer.edu

Reed Ridder joins his brother Ryan on the Mercer coaching staff after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at UT Martin.

Last season at UT Martin, the Skyhawks boasted NCAA Division I's 23^rd-ranked scoring offense (81.5 points/game), while also showcasing one of the nation's top rebounding teams as well. The Skyhawks captured 12 of their final 14 regular season contests to claim a share of the OVC regular season crown and the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament. It was just the ninth time in the 73-year history of the program that the Skyhawks had rattled off 20 or more victories, and the first time it had accomplished that feat since the 2016-17 campaign.

In 2022-23, the Skyhawks finished second in school history in scoring (2,658 points) and rebounding (1,293) while ranking in the top-15 in NCAA Division I men's basketball and topping the OVC in defensive rebounding per game (28.7, seventh), fast break points (15.09 per game, ninth), scoring offense (80.5 points per outing, 14th) and rebounding per game (39.18, 15th).

The Skyhawks set a school record for most single-season All-OVC honorees (three) in 2022-23 in Parker Stewart (first team), Jordan Sears (first team and All-Newcomer) and KJ Simon (second team).

Prior to joining UT Martin, Ridder spent one season as an assistant coach at Daytona State in Daytona Beach, Florida. While at Daytona State, Ridder was instrumental in the development of a trio of NJCAA All-Central Conference honorees while Daytona State ranked third in the country in three-point field goals per game (10.2).

Ridder spent one season at Georgia Southern in a recruiting/player development role. He helped the team to a 13-13 season in the first year of a rebuilding process. After the Eagles returned just two scholarship players from the previous season (the fourth least amount in NCAA Division I), Georgia Southern led the Sun Belt Conference with 15.8 forced turnovers per contest.

As a graduate assistant at Georgia from 2018-2020, Ridder worked closely with a pair of eventual NBA Draft picks in Anthony Edwards (No. 1 overall pick in 2020) and Nicolas Claxton (No. 31 overall pick in 2019). Edwards was crowned as Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year before the Minnesota Timberwolves made him the first Bulldog to become the top pick in the NBA Draft.

Ridder played professionally for two seasons following his collegiate career, competing in Spain (2017-18) and Australia (2016-17).

As a player, Ridder racked up 1,003 career points at a pair of NCAA Division II universities. He spent his freshman season at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. before transferring to play his final three years for his father Steve Ridder at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

An Ormond Beach, Fla. native, Ridder graduated from Embry-Riddle with a degree in business administration in 2016. He later earned his master's degree in sports administration from Georgia in 2020.