SoCon Basketball Portal Recruiting Profiles: Mercer Bears

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Mercer (14-19, 6-12/finished 8th in SoCon)–Ryan Ridder’s first season in charge of the Mercer basketball program was filled with and ups and downs, and much like the routine for young head coaches taking over at a new place, Ridder had to come in and piece together a roster and try and convince as much talent as he could to stick around for at least one season before entering the transfer portal if they still wanted to transfer, and for the most part, Ridder excelled in being able to navigate both, as well as endure what was a topsy-turvy season, as the young, 40-year old head coach got his first taste of the competitive nature of SoCon basketball in 2024-25.
On some nights, Ridder’s Bears looked like they could beat anyone in the league and looked like one of the teams that, if you didn’t know better about the situation at hand, looked like a team that could compete for a SoCon regular-season and tournament title.

However, there were other nights that were truly frustrating, and while the Bears were rarely blown out in league play last season, it was also apparent that this uber-talented roster lacked the kind of cohesiveness and belief to win games in the clutch, and that was particularly apparent in the SoCon Tournament when the Bears saw their season end with a 76-61 loss to top overall seed and regular-season league champion Chattanooga in what was the Bears’ second game of the tournament.

After knocking off Western Carolina, 67-66, in its opener in the 2025 tournament, the Bears would see a six-point, 34-28, halftime lead quickly disappear in the second half. It was a Chattanooga team that the Bears had defeated 99-94 in a thrilling overtime game to open Southern Conference play and then led the Mocs for most of the way before eventually seeing the wheels come off late in what was a 93-84 loss in early February at McKenzie Arena to the Mocs.

Much of that inconsistency in close games late, and in conference play and in the conference tournament, the Bears were involved in nine games decided by five points or less, finishing 4-5 in those games. Part of the issue was while Ahmad Robinson was no doubt one of the hardest assignments for any opposing defender in the league, it’s that his decision-making down the stretch in games was suspect. Sometimes brilliant, while at others he left much to be desired.

Robinson has left the program, joining up with Andy Kennedy and the UAB Blazers at season’s end, but as good of a scorer and distributor that the junior point guard could be, he could also be a big liability. His 131 turnovers last season were more than any player ranked in the top 350 in college basketball in assist/turnover ratio, with the next closest in terms of total turnovers being Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, who finished the season with 123 miscues.

All that to say is that it might not be such a bad thing that the Bears are starting anew at point guard for the 2025-26 season, and while scoring is always hard to replace, the headache of having to deal with some mind-numbing turnovers at times last season is something that Ryan Ridder and staff hopefully won’t have to worry about this season.

Outside of Robinson, the Bears must also essentially replace the rest of the backcourt, with Cam Bryant, Tyler “Chip” Johnson, Jah Quinones, and Jah Nze have all either graduated or entered the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season.

Chip Johnson, who is out of eligibility, was excellent in his one season with the Bears. He was not only a great leader, but his shooting ability was vital in several key wins for Mercer last season. Johnson was one of the best perimeter shooters in the Southern Conference last season and for Mercer, which wasn’t a great perimeter shooting team last season, was easily its best shooter, finishing the season by connecting on 38.4% of his shots from downtown, as he connected on 93-of-242 from three-point range and finished as the Bears’ second-leading scorer last season at 15.7 PPG.

The lone returnee back for Ridder in the backcourt heading into the 2025-26 season is Brady Shoulders, who was solid in his first season of action as a college basketball player. The 6-6 guard from Eddyville, KY., averaged 5.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 1.2 APG last season for Mercer. He also finished the season with a 42.1% field goal percentage (69-of-164) and was a 33.3% () shooter from long-range.

Shouders had several big games for the Bears last season, including finding his way into double figures on eight occasions last season, including posting a career-high 14 points on two occasions, which came in a loss at Chattanooga, as well as a in a narrow 75-72 loss to Miami of Ohio in the Fort Myers Classic, as he played 29 minutes and connected on 5-of-10 shots from the field, including going 3-for-8 from three-point range in the loss.

Shoulders is not only the leading returning scorer for the Bears entering the upcoming season, but also will be a key piece that could potentially have a breakout season for the Bears in 2025-26 campaign. I look for him to be a much-improved three-point threat, as well as more aggressive as a scorer overall.

One of Shoulders’ more memorable performances of the season came the game before scoring his career-high of 14 points for the first time of two times of the season against Miami (OH), as he was instrumental in helping the Bears reach the championship game of the Fort Myers Classic against the Redhawks, as his three-pointer with five seconds remaining helped the Bears force overtime against Jacksonville. Mercer would use the momentum established from Shoulders’ key triple to come away with a 90-89 overtime win.

All told, Shoulders finished the 2024-25 season by starting 24 of 33 games for the Bears, averaging 25.2 MPG. Shoulders is joined by Braeden Carlsen as the only other returnee in the backcourt heading into the upcoming season. Carlsen, a 6-4 shooting guard from Wauconda, Ill, redshirted the 2024-25 season.

In the front court, the Bears got some strong play from Alex Holt in the paint over the past couple of seasons after he transferred in from High Point prior to the 2023-24 season as a grad transfer with two years of eligibility. Holt easily had his best season in 2024-25 with the Bears, contributing 11.2 PPG and a team-leading 6.8 RPG. He also ranked fifth overall in the SoCon and led the team in field goal percentage, connecting at a 58.3% clip for the season.

In addition to Holt in the front court, Ridder must find replacements for Angel Montas Jr and Marcus Overstreet, who must also be replaced.

Like the backcourt, there isn’t much in terms of production returning, however, the cupboard is not completely bare, with 6-8 small forward Petras Padegimas and walk on center Alex Koch highlight the lone returnees in the front court for the Bears entering the 2025-26 season.

The one major holdover that has put in his time and work in extensive fashion with the Mercer basketball program is TJ Grant, and the 6-5 forward from nearby Warner Robins, GA., logged action in 13 games off the bench last season, averaging 11.9 minutes-per-game in those games in which he saw time. He scored a career-high 13 points in the lopsided season-opening win over VU-Lynchburg, while leading the Bears with 13 rebounds in a loss at South Carolina.

All told, heading into his second season as the head coach of Mercer, Ridder will need to replace seven of the top eight scorers from last season and 71.9 PPG of its 76.1 of scoring from a year ago.

Attacking the portal would be much the same for Ridder as it was when he took over, which is basically he came in last season needing immediate help from the transfer portal, and building depth as well as for the future would involve getting into homes and being a salesman to mom and dad for the Mercer basketball program to talented, overlooked talent from the high school ranks. I call it old school recruiting, as it seems at the power conference level at least, recruiting high school talent seems to be all of the sudden an outdated form of recruiting.

With that said, Mercer fans can rest easy in the knowledge that, Ridder is one of the best recruiters of any coach in the Southern Conference, and that not only goes for high school recruits, but also from the portal. It would be hard to argue the talent that Ridder brought in from the portal in his first season as Macon as Mercer’s head basketball coach.

There are several areas that Ridder will also hope to improve in addition to first of all just replacing the sheer amount of scoring and depth lost from a year ago, which is almost an entire roster’s worth of players. It will be interesting to see how the Bears make adjustments under Ridder in 2025-26, and two areas the Bears must improve next season are overall on the defensive end of the floor, ranking 273 out of 354 nationally in scoring defense (75.3 PPG) and guarding the three-point line, ranking 236th nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense (34.7%). Both paled in comparison, though, from Mercer’s struggles from the charity stripe last season, as the Bears finished ranking 348 of 355 nationally in free throw shooting (65.3%).

In the backcourt, Ridder has secured the commitment of several players that should make an impact immediately having hit both the JUCO ranks, which he knows best, as well as bringing in talent from both the power 6 and mid-major levels.

So far, Ridder has a total of 10 commitments, which includes eight from the portal or JUCO ranks, while the Bears picked a pair of commitments from the high school ranks and are not as of yet when it comes to filling out a roster.

One of the obvious areas of major concern heading into the portal season for Ryan Ridder and staff was the point guard spot, where the Bears must replace both Ahmad Robinson and Jah Quinones have moved on. One of the unique gets is Kyle Cuff Jr., which has the ability to play multiple spots in the backcourt for the Bears.

Ridder, who is one of the best recruiters among the SoCon’s head coaches, brought in a player that can make a difference right away, which is much the same the case as it was last season with Robinson.

One of the best “gets” in the transfer is combo guard Kyle Cuff Jr., who comes to Macon from Syracuse. Cuffe Jr. comes to Mercer with one year of eligibility remaining, and Mercer will be the third school in which he will be attending, as he started his career playing for Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks. He transferred to Syracuse after spending his freshman and redshirt freshman seasons in Lawrence.

He spent his next two seasons at Syracuse and is coming off a 2024-25 season, which saw him log action in 30 games for the averaging 12.4 MPG. He finished his final season with the Orange averaging 5.1 PPG and 1.1 RPG, while posting 16 assists and turning it over 25 times. He also contributed 13 steals on the defensive end of the floor.

In Syracuse’s ACC home opener against Wake Forest, Cuffe Jr. posted 14 points and had six boards, which marked his career-best performance. Cuffe Jr. is versatile and can play either the point or off-guard spots, with a his excellent on-ball defense being a notable attribute for the incoming ACC talent.

Cuffe Jr. isn’t the only player with a background that features high-level basketball, however, as 6-3 Baraka Okojie comes to Mercer from Memphis where he spent the 2024-25 season after spending his freshman campaign at George Mason. He will also be in the mix to challenge for the starting point guard spot, which has been vacated by Robinson.

During the 2024-25 season, Okojie didn’t see the floor for the Tigers, however, as a freshman in 2023-24 at George Mason, Okojie turned more than a few heads during his time with the Patriots. He saw action in all 32 games with the Green and Gold, garnering All Atlantic 10 Rookie Team accolades after posting 8.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 2.7 APG in his first season of college basketball.

He finished his freshman campaign in 2023-24 ranking ninth overall in the A-10 in steals-per-game (1.4 SPG), showing his tenacity and grit on the defensive end of the floor, which is an area that head coach Ryan Ridder stressed had to be better on more than one occasion during his first season as the Bears’ head coach, and that was defending out of the guard spots.

In terms of being an offensive threat, he scored in double figures in nine games in 2023-24, which included posting a career-high 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists in the regular-season finale of his freshman campaign against Saint Joseph’s.

It would appear that, at least on the surface, Okojie is ready to come in and make an impact from the outset of his career in the Orange and Black.

Quinton Perkins II will also be in the mix at point guard this coming season, as he joins the Mercer program from the JUCO ranks, as he comes out of one of the most prestigious JUCO programs in the country, in Indian Hills CC in Ottumwa, IA. It’s also the program that produced former Chattanooga Mocs legend and future NBA Lottery Draft pick, Johnny Taylor, way back in 1996.

Perkins II is a 6-1, 180-lb, rising redshirt sophomore that will have three years of eligibility remaining. Prior to going to Indian Hills CC, Perkins II spent one season at Tarleton State, where he did not log any action. In his only season at Indian Hills, the native of Dallas, TX, was an All Region II Second-Team selection after seeing action in 31 of 32 games on the season, making a total of six starts and averaged 21. 5 minutes-per-game.

Additionally, the redshirt freshman guard finished his first season of college basketball posting 8.0 PPG and shooting an impressive 51.5% (86-of-167) from the floor, which included an even more impressive 48.4% (44-of-91) from three-point range.

Perkins II finished out his only season at Indian Hills CC by posting double figures in eight games, with five of those resulting in 20+point performances. He posted a career-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point land, as he helped lead Indian Hills to a resounding 85-54 win in the process.

One of the prime contenders to make an impact at off-guard and is expected to compete for a starting job at shooting guard is 6-4 Zaire Williams, who came to Mercer as a graduate transfer from Wagner back on April 1.

The 6-4, 200-lb native of Brooklyn, N.Y., saw action in 26 games in the 2024-25 season for the Seahawks, which included making 24 starts. He finished the season averaging a solid 12.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and dished out 1.9 APG in helping the Seahawks to a 14-16 record and a 6-10 finish in the NEC last season, averaging 30.7 minutes-per-game, which ranked 10th in the league.

In his final season with the Seahawks, Williams would should 38.8% (108-of-278) from the floor and 34.2% (51-of-149) from beyond the three-point line. His 12.1 PPG scoring average was good enough to rank 14th overall in NEC in scoring, while his 1.8 steals-per-game ranked him second in the league. He was a Third-Team All-NEC selection in his final campaign at Wagner.

In his career at Wagner, he started 68 of the 87 total games he played in, averaging 25.4 MPG, averaging 8.3 PPG, 1.3 APG, 2.7 RPG and registered an impressive 120 steals across four seasons playing a prominent role for the Seahawks.

Rounding out the guard spots from the portal is Tristan Gross, who makes his way to Macon from Stetson where he spent his first two seasons of his collegiate career.

Gross, a 6-6 wing, who is athletic and rangy, will be a player that figures into mix much like Cam Bryant did in his one season for the Bears, only Gross will have two years of eligibility remaining. During the 2023-24 season with the Hatters, Gross saw action in all 35 games, which included making 14 starts. During his freshman campaign back in 2023-24, he was a part of Stetson history, as he was part of the first and only team in program history to ever make it to the NCAA Tournament.

In 2024-25, the athletic wing ended his campaign averaging 4.0 PPG and 1.9 RPG across 19.6 MPG of floor action. He is a pretty solid threat from the perimeter as well, connecting on 36.4% (56-of-154) from long-range in two seasons with the Hatters.

A total of three post players were brought in by Ridder, starting with a big one…literally, in 6-10, 220-lb center Armanii Mighty, who comes to middle Georgia after spending two seasons at Boston College and one at Central Michigan. His most recent campaign was spent in Muskegon, MI, for the Chippewas, however, did not see any action for CMU, earning a medical redshirt.

He will have two years of eligibility remaining when he arrives at Mercer. As a sophomore at BC in the 2023-24 season, Mighty saw time in 35 games, averaging 5.6 MPG, while posting 0.8 PPG and 1.2 RPG. He shot 41% (9-of-22) on the season, while grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and blocking nine shots.

As a true freshman at BC, he saw limited action in 16 contests, averaging 0.7 PPG and 0.9 RPG. He has the potential to add not only size and athleticism in the paint for the Bears, which is something that, outside of Holt and Overstreet, the Bears didn’t really have all that much of in Ridder’s first season.

More importantly perhaps is the fact that Mighty has a chance to give the Bears a legitimate rim-protector in the paint for the next two seasons. On the offensive side of things, however, Mighty appears to be a bit of a liability.

Forwards Bendji Pierre (San Diego) and Connor Serven (Virginia Tech) round out the recruiting haul for the Bears from the portal, as both will enter the Bears program with one year of eligibility remaining. Pierre, a 6-8, 230-lb power forward comes on board after having spent the past three seasons at San Diego, playing only of those three seasons, as he was sidelined with an injury for a majority of his time there. In fact, he sat out the entire 2023-24 season and only played 15 games in his first season with the Torreros.

The 2024-25 season definitely turned out to be his most productive, finishing out the season by averaging 5.1 PPG and 2.7 RPG, making 11 starts in 29 overall appearances. He averaged 18.9 minutes-per-game for the Torreros last season, with 31 of his 50 field goals for the season coming from beyond the arch. He wasn’t terribly efficient in shooting from long range, however, as he connected at just a 25.4% (31-of-122) from long-range.

Serven is a 6-8, 225-lb transfer from Virginia Tech, who has also spent time at both Eastern Michigan (2023-24) and Illinois (2020-23) before detouring to Mercer for his final season of NCAA Division I college basketball.

As a Hokie last season, Serven finished by seeing action only 16 games and totaled just 38 minutes of floor time for the season. He enjoyed his most productive season at EMU, as he averaged 3.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG, and played in 31 games, including 13 starts for the Eagles. He scored a career-high 15 points on a 5-for-10 shooting performance in a 71-69 overtime win vs. Kent State. His most productive performance last season with the Hokies came against North Carolina, knocking down 2-of-3 shots from the field in a 91-59 setback in Blacksburg.

Freshman Additions:

Head coach Ryan Ridder has signed only two freshman performers thus far, with Ridder signing both a combo guard, in Jaydon Cole, as well as a small forward in Njoroge Nganga.

Cole, a 6-3 point guard out of Milton, GA, by way of Milton High School where he established himself as a three-star recruit coming out of high school according to 247Sports. Cole is versatile in that he can play either the point or off-guard spot, and he chose to attend Mercer back in late April, announcing his future college plans and intent to attend Mercer for the 2025-26 season via social media.

Cole chose to attend Mercer over some other solid NCAA Division I offers from both Old Dominion and Radford. He started his prep career at King’s Ridge Christian High School where he led the Tigers to the state championship as a sophomore, averaging 9.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 3.2 APG.

He would see his numbers take off in his junior campaign, as Cole nearly doubled his scoring average to post 17.9 PPG, however, despite seeing his Indvidual numbers increase, he was not able to lead his school back to such lofty places in his junior season, as King’s Ridge would miss the state playoffs, finishing 16-8.

Cole played his senior season at Milton High School, finishing his career by garnering All-Region First Team honors, and just before the calendar turned from 2024 to ’25, surpassed 1,000 points for his career.

One of the things that Cole so enticing to Ridder and staff during the recruiting process was his shooting ability, possessing what is seemingly limitless range.

Njoroge Nganga rounds out the additions for the Bears as far as freshman signees are concerned. The wing originally committed to Nicholls State out of high school, however, since has flipped his commitment to Mercer. The wing guard will give Mercer some added athleticism on the wing, as well as being an above average shooter from long range.

Finally, 6-4 Braden Carlsen could figure into the backcourt plans in 2025-26. He redshirted his first season with the Bears after coming to Mercer from Wauconda, Ill.

Early 2025-26 Outlook:

As good as Mercer’s prospects looked for a rebuild in Ryan Ridder’s first season as the head coach of the Bears, they might look even better this time around, as the Bears should not only be competitive with this latest recruiting haul, but should be able to compete for a top six finish in the league from the outset of the season.

The scoring production from the additions made look to be more widespread, which is unlike last season, which saw a large bulk of it between Ahmad Robinson and Tyler “Chip” Johnson alone. That is certainly not the case with this latest recruiting haul from the transfer portal.

The other thing I look for that will be a surprise for some this coming season will be the improvement of a guy like Brady Shoulders. I think the 2025-26 season will be a year in which he is able to take his game to an even higher level and become even more of a scoring threat, as he has good mid-range capabilities, and if he can bring improvement to his perimeter jumper over the off-season, I think Shoulders has the potential to have a Marcus Kell type of breakout season for the Bears in the upcoming campaign.

Finally, one of the huge additions made during the off-season also came on the sidelines for the Bears, as former legendary guard Langston Hall joined the coaching staff in mid-June. Hall is one of the most-decorated hoopers in Mercer basketball history, and was a member of the Bears’ last team in the Atlantic Sun, and was also a big part of helping the Bears knock off No. 6 Duke in a historic upset in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

He finished his Bears career with 1,579 career points and was a three-time All-Atlantic Sun selection. Hall also finished his career as Mercer’s all-time career assists leader, having dished out 633 helpers over the course of his Bears career.

As a part of that 2013-14 that canceled Duke’s March Madness plans beyond Raleigh, N.C., he led Mercer by averaging 14.6 PPG, 5.6 APG and 3.1 RPG and was the named the NABC Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year. His No. 21 jersey currently hangs in the rafters at Hawkins Arena.

While I won’t guarantee Mercer to make a top four or five finish in the league this coming season, I am only stopping just short of saying that. When we mention Mercer this time next year and the job Ridder has done, it will be in the same breath as being the most improved team in the SoCon and a program that is on the upswing.

Starters Lost: (5)–F/C–Alex Holt (out of eligibility), G–Ahmad Robinson (transferred to UAB), G–Tyler “Chip” Johnson (out of eligibility), WG–Cam Bryant (out of eligibility), G–Laurynas Vaistraras (out of eligbility)

Others Lost: (5)–G–Jah Nze (entered transfer portal/unsigned), G/F-Angel Montas Jr (transferred to UMass-Lowell), F–Marcus Overstreet (transferred to San Jose State), G-Jah Quinones (entered the transfer portal in late spring/unsigned)
Potential Breakout Player in 2025-26: G/F–Brady Shoulders

Best Transfer Portal Get: G-Baraka Okojie or G-Kyle Cuffe Jr.

Best Freshman Addition: G-Jaydon Cole

Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: A