Ryan Ridder - Head Coach - Staff Directory - Mercer University Athletics

Staff Directory

Ryan Ridder

Title:
Head Coach
Alma Mater:
Embry-Riddle, 2008
Office Phone:
(478) 301-2994

A 15-year collegiate coaching veteran who has already left a trail of success through the first three stops of his head coaching career, Ryan Ridder was announced as the 30^th head coach in the history of the Mercer men’s basketball program on March 15, 2024.

Ridder trekked to Middle Georgia after leading UT Martin to 48 victories across three seasons, including a 21-11 mark in 2023-24. He has amassed a 191-120 (.614) record in ten seasons as a head coach – a career that also includes previous head-coaching stops at both Daytona State and Bethune-Cookman.

Ridder bridged his first and second seasons in northwest Tennessee by leading the Skyhawks on a 9-1/2 game turnaround as UT Martin posted 19 victories during the 2022-23 campaign, a third-place finish in the final Ohio Valley Conference regular season standings and the program’s fifth appearance all-time in the OVC Tournament semifinals. The 19 wins marked the fifth-most victories for the program in its more than three decades on the NCAA Division I level.

UT Martin boasted NCAA Division I’s 23^rd-ranked scoring offense (81.5 points/game) this past season, 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.

Prior to taking the reins at UT Martin, Ridder compiled 48 wins across three seasons as the head coach at Bethune-Cookman, including a pair of winning campaigns as the skipper of the Wildcats. In just his first season as an NCAA Division I head coach, Ridder steered the Wildcats to 18 wins and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference crown. Following that magical season, he was selected as the recipient of the Joe B. Hall Award which is presented annually to the top first-year head coach in the NCAA Division I ranks. He was also named to ESPN’s "40 Under 40" list of the nation's top assistant and head coaches in May 2020.

Ridder jump-started his head coaching career at Daytona State (Fla.) College where he amassed a 95-28 (.772) record and four conference championships from 2013-17, including back-to-back 25-win seasons in his final two years at the junior college powerhouse. The Falcons were consistently ranked on both the regional and national levels under Ridder who claimed four consecutive conference coach of the year laurels as well.

Ridder made the leap into the coaching world as a volunteer assistant coach for his father, Steve Ridder, at Embry-Riddle (Fla.) in 2009-10. He also served as an assistant coach at Campbell for three seasons (2010-13).

A native of Lexington, Ky., Ridder starred as a player at the College of Wooster from 2003-05 before closing out his collegiate playing career for his father at Embry-Riddle in 2005-06. He earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace studies from ERAU in 2008, and accepted a role as an assistant at North Raleigh Christian High School in North Carolina for the 2008-09 campaign. He earned his master’s degree in sport management with a concentration in intercollegiate athletic administration from California (Pa.) in 2009.

Ridder and his wife, the former Jen Calnan of Daytona Beach, Fla., have three daughters - Brixton, Remi and Marlee.

THE RIDDER FILE
Coaching Experience
2008-09	North Raleigh (N.C.) Christian Academy (Assistant Coach)
2009-10	Embry-Riddle, Fla. (Assistant Coach)
2010-13	Campbell (Assistant Coach)
2013-17	Daytona State (Head Coach)
2017-21	Bethune-Cookman (Head Coach)
2021-24	UT Martin (Head Coach)
2024-Present	Mercer (Head Coach)

Playing Experience
Played two seasons (2003-05) at the College of Wooster. Finished out playing career under his father, Steve, at Embry-Riddle (Fla.).

Education
Bachelor's degree in aerospace studies (Embry-Riddle, 2008); Master's degree in sport management (California, Pa., 2009)

Family
Wife, Jen, and three daughters, Brixton, Remi and Marlee

HEAD COACHING RECORD

Season	Team	Overall	Pct.	Conference	Pct.	Notes
*Daytona State Falcons (NJCAA - Mid-Florida Conference)*
2013-14	Daytona State	24-6	.800	7-2	.778	Conference Champions
2014-15	Daytona State	21-8	.724	8-1	.889	Conference Champions
2015-16	Daytona State	25-7	.781	6-3	.667	Conference Champions
2016-17	Daytona State	25-7	.781	7-2	.778	Conference Champions
Daytona State		95-28	.772	28-8	.778

*Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)*
2017-18	Bethune-Cookman	18-14	.563	12-4	.750	Conference Champions
2018-19	Bethune-Cookman	14-17	.452	9-7	.563
2019-20	Bethune-Cookman	16-14	.533	10-6	.625
Bethune-Cookman		48-45	.516	31-17	.646

*UT Martin Skyhawks (Ohio Valley Conference)*
2021-22	UT Martin	8-22	.267	4-14	.222
2022-23	UT Martin	19-14	.576	10-8	.556
2023-24	UT Martin	21-11	.656	14-4	.778	Conference Co-Champions
UT Martin		48-47	.505	38-26	.594

Totals		191-120	.614	97-51	.655