After their OVC tournament run was cut short, the Skyhawks will be looking to run it back for the 24-25 season, a season that will be missing some key contributors from this past season. With a coaching change and the loss of a key player, the Skyhawks have a lot of slack to pick up if they want to be back where they were this season, let alone if they want to go dancing next March.
The biggest change coming to the team will be the departure of head coach Ryan Ridder. Ridder has taken over the men’s basketball program at Mercer University in Macon, Ga. After a season that saw the Bears accumulate just 16 wins out of 33 games, Mercer fired head coach Greg Gary and began to search for a coach to lead its program. That search landed them at UT Martin with Ridder.
After bringing an OVC Regular Season Championship to Martin for the first time since 2009, Ridder will be bringing his talents to the Southern Conference. Ridder finishes his three-year Skyhawk career with a 48-47 (.505) record including two trips to the OVC Tournament and one OVC Regular Season Championship.
On the court, the Skyhawks will be losing their number one option and signal caller Jordan Sears. The junior guard will be looking for another opportunity to showcase his talents on a bigger stage in the 24-25 season. After a season that saw Sears post 21.6 points and 4.5 assists, Sears will be entering the NCAA transfer portal for the second time in his career, according to Joe Tipton of ON3 sports. Sears has garnered interest from teams such as:
- Texas Tech
- TCU
- Georgia
- LSU
- Alabama
- Indiana
- Arkansas
- Virginia
- Texas A&M
- Providence
- California
- UCF
- Arizona State
- Loyola Chicago
- San Diego State
Sears, who already transferred to UT Martin from Gardner-Webb University in 2022, has been a starter for the Skyhawks for two seasons, both of which he led the Skyhawks to a winning record and appearances in the OVC tournament. Sears is the 4th ranked point guard and 21st overall player in the portal.
Another member of the team that will be missed is junior small forward Jacob Crews. After a season that saw him achieve OVC first team honors, Crews announced his intent to enter the NCAA transfer portal, according to Joe Tipton of ON3 sports. Crews, who is no stranger to the transfer portal, will look to take his immense talents to the University of Missouri for the 24-25 season.
After two underwhelming seasons at the University of North Florida, Crews entered the portal and transferred to Martin, where he made a 16.5 Points Per Game (PPG) increase from his sophomore season to his junior season. Whichever team gets Crews will be nabbing a sharpshooter and a great all-around scorer. Crews was the number one small forward and second-best player in the transfer portal.
Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, this means they will be attempting to replace two first team OVC players and a head coach that turned their program around in a mere three seasons. The Skyhawks will have to rely on young returning players and new recruits of their own from the transfer portal to get this team back to where they were.
