Teams › SoCon · Compare Mercer with another team
Mercer
Mercer returns 61% of last season's minutes and rates #272 on offense and #196 on defense of 365 teams. 80% range: -10.7 to +4.2.
Why we have them here
Mercer's preseason projection of -3.2 (No. 231 of 365) starts from the roster: its players' ratings, weighted by projected minutes, add up to a roll-up worth -2.6, about the -2.3 typical of teams ranked near it. Last season's rating (No. 127 at the end of 2025-26) adds +0.6, more than its neighbours' -0.6; the program's level two and three seasons back and the roster's experience and shape add -1.6. It returns 61% of last season's minutes, about the same as teams ranked near it (65%). The projection leans most on Brady Shoulders (+0.1), Jaydon Cole (+0.1) and Quinton Perkins II (-0.1); the newcomer who matters most is NJ Nganga, a newcomer from outside Division I, at -0.4. Its 80% range, -10.7 to +4.2, is about as wide as that of teams ranked near it.
Generated from the published projection's own terms, not written by hand. "Teams ranked near it" are the thirty nearest in the preseason order. Preseason projection frozen 2026-10-23; how the projection is built.
Roster
Returning 51% · Transfer 12% · Other newcomer 16%
| Rank | Player | Pos | Ht | D1 yrs | Group | From | MPG | Rating | Contrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1526 | Brady Shoulders | G | 6-6 | 2 | Returning | Mercer | 29 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 1538 | Jaydon Cole | G | 6-3 | 1 | Returning | Mercer | 13 | +0.2 | +0.1 |
| 1877 | Quinton Perkins II | G | 6-1 | 1 | Returning | Mercer | 25 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| 2764 | Alex Koch | F | 6-8 | 2 | Returning | Mercer | 11 | -1.2 | -0.3 |
| 3274 | NJ Nganga | F | 6-7 | 0 | Other newcomer | 11 | -1.6 | -0.4 | |
| 3398 | Petras Padegimas | F | 6-8 | 3 | Other newcomer | 11 | -1.6 | -0.4 | |
| 3398 | Dimitrije Kovacevic | F | 6-8 | 0 | Other newcomer | 11 | -1.6 | -0.4 | |
| 3592 | Keelan Steele | F | 6-10 | 4 | Transfer | Maine | 23 | -1.2 | -0.7 |
| 3680 | Braeden Carlsen | G | 6-4 | 1 | Returning | Mercer | 13 | -1.7 | -0.5 |
| 4201 | Pero Zubac | F | 6-10 | 1 | Returning | Mercer | 11 | -2.4 | -0.7 |
A player's rating is points per 100 possessions better than an average Division I player while he is on the floor. Contribution weights it by the share of a rotation slot he is projected to play, so a star on the bench and a role player who never sits both read right. Rank is among all 5,249 rated players. MPG is the projected share of a rotation slot times 40. "From" is last season's team. The bars are contribution, the player's rating times his projected share; their sum is the roll-up the projection starts from.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Proj. margin | Win prob. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu Nov 05 | at |  Virginia Tech #45 | -18.4 | 7% | |
| Sat Nov 07 | at |  Davidson #132 | -9.1 | 23% | |
| Tue Nov 10 | at |  Georgia Southern #298 | -3.1 | 40% | |
| Thu Nov 12 | at |  West Virginia #48 | -17.2 | 8% | |
| Wed Nov 18 | at |  Presbyterian #243 | -5.1 | 34% | |
| Sat Nov 21 | vs |  Charleston Southern #276 | +7.7 | 73% | |
| Tue Nov 24 | at |  Florida Atlantic #122 | -11.0 | 19% | |
| Tue Dec 01 | at |  Georgia State #260 | -5.0 | 34% | |
| Sat Dec 05 | vs |  Wofford #306 | conf | +5.3 | 67% |
| Tue Dec 08 | at |  Arizona State #52 | -17.2 | 8% | |
| Tue Dec 15 | at |  New Mexico #50 | -17.4 | 8% | |
| Sat Dec 19 | at |  Chattanooga #226 | conf | -2.1 | 43% |
| Tue Dec 22 | at |  Tennessee Tech #280 | conf | -0.4 | 49% |
| Wed Dec 30 | vs |  East Tennessee State #171 | conf | +0.5 | 52% |
| Wed Jan 06 | vs |  Western Carolina #152 | conf | -0.2 | 50% |
| Sat Jan 09 | at | Wofford #306 | conf | +1.1 | 53% |
| Wed Jan 13 | vs |  Samford #190 | conf | +1.1 | 54% |
| Sat Jan 16 | at |  Furman #110 | conf | -7.2 | 28% |
| Mon Jan 18 | at | Western Carolina #152 | conf | -5.4 | 33% |
| Wed Jan 20 | vs |  VMI #350 | conf | +8.7 | 76% |
| Sat Jan 23 | vs |  UNC Greensboro #246 | conf | +3.0 | 60% |
| Wed Jan 27 | at | East Tennessee State #171 | conf | -4.8 | 35% |
| Sat Jan 30 | vs |  The Citadel #345 | conf | +8.0 | 74% |
| Sat Feb 06 | vs | Furman #110 | conf | -2.3 | 43% |
| Thu Feb 11 | at | VMI #350 | conf | +3.3 | 61% |
| Sat Feb 13 | at | UNC Greensboro #246 | conf | -2.2 | 43% |
| Thu Feb 18 | vs | Tennessee Tech #280 | conf | +4.3 | 63% |
| Sat Feb 20 | vs | Chattanooga #226 | conf | +2.3 | 57% |
| Wed Feb 24 | at | Samford #190 | conf | -4.4 | 36% |
| Sat Feb 27 | at | The Citadel #345 | conf | +3.2 | 60% |
Projected margin is from Mercer's side, with home court where the game is not neutral (N). Games are the schedule as posted; tournaments and late additions appear as they are listed. Predictions are as of 2026-10-26 and reflect the roster as the model has it on that date.