Reed Ridder - Men's Basketball Coach

Reed Ridder

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
rridder1@utm.edu

Reed Ridder is in his second season as an assistant coach on the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball staff in 2023-24.

The younger brother of Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder, Reed was part of a highly successful campaign in his first season on the Skyhawk bench in 2022-23. UT Martin pieced together its second-biggest turnaround in school history, notching 19 victories (the fifth-most since the program transitioned into the NCAA Division I ranks in 1992) and tied for its third-most Ohio Valley Conference victories (10) in school history. The Skyhawks defeated every OVC school at least once (including a season sweep of eventual NCAA Tournament participant Southeast Missouri) and advanced to the OVC Championship semifinals for just the fifth time ever. UT Martin also tied for its most home victories (14) in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center since the school transitioned into the NCAA Division I Era.

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). UT Martin also led the OVC in scoring margin (+5.1), field goal percentage (.459) and field goal percentage defense (.422).

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). UT Martin was also one of only 12 NCAA Division I programs to produce multiple National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District recipients in 2022-23 as Stewart and Simon each earned that prestigious accolade.

Reed came to the Skyhawks from Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, Fla., where he was an assistant last season for head coach Joey Cantens. Reed also spent time as a director of player development and recruiting at Georgia Southern (2020-21) under head coach Brian Burg after serving as a graduate assistant on head coach Tom Crean’s staff at Georgia from 2018-20.

Last season at Daytona State, Ridder was instrumental in the development of a trio of NJCAA All-Central Conference honorees. Reggie Quezada tallied first team accolades while Johan Crafoord and Ky Stattmann each collected second team honors for the Falcons, who ranked third in the country in three-point field goals per game (10.2).

During his lone year at Georgia Southern, Ridder helped the squad 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.

At Georgia, 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.

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.

During his junior campaign, Reed helped the Eagles to a 35-2 overall record, a championship in The Sun Conference and a Final Four appearance in the NAIA national tournament. He averaged a career-best 13.0 points per game as a senior as the school transitioned into the NCAA Division II ranks, capping off his Eagle career with averages of 10.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals over 94 games played. In just three seasons, he ranked eighth in program history with 181 three-pointers made – converting 37.6 percent of his career attempts from beyond the arc.

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

Coaching runs in the Ridder family as Reed's father Steve is still the head coach at Embry-Riddle. Steve has tallied 759 career victories and a .705 winning percentage over 38 seasons, which ranks ninth amongst active head collegiate coaches with at least 600 career wins. Reed's brother Ryan has compiled a 170-109 career record and a .609 winning percentage over 10 seasons - the last six coming at the NCAA Division I level.

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.