Wierzba joined Gardner's staff in the summer of 2010 after a stint at the University of Maryland where he served as the women’s basketball Director of Operations.  Wierzba spent three seasons with the Terps (2007-10), in which he handled day-to-day operations of the team, coordinated team travel, scheduled practice and served as a liaison to the Academic Support and Career Development office.

“Rhet left a tremendous job at Maryland because he was hungry to get on the floor,” Mercer head coach Susie Gardner said.  “He wants to coach and he’s also one of the best people you’ll ever meet.  He’s a great teacher of fundamentals and also brings a positive attitude to the program. I believe he has the ability to be a great coach.”

Prior to his time at Maryland, Wierzba spent two seasons as the Director of Operations for the men’s basketball program at Evansville University.  After two years, he was named interim assistant coach in the spring of 2007 before taking the position at Maryland.

Gardner first met Wierzba during her time as head coach of the women’s program at Austin Peay University.

Wierzba was a four-year player at Austin Peay, where he helped the Governors win back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference titles.  A team captain for two years, he was named an OVC Scholar Athlete in his senior season.  After graduating summa cum laude, Wierzba went on to play professionally in Mexico and Canada before returning to Austin Peay as a graduate assistant coach in 2004.

“Rhet was my favorite player on the men’s team because he was a gym rat who worked his tail off,” Garnder said.  “I was always impressed with him as a human being and we stayed in touch after we had both left.  He was always someone I wanted to hire.” 

As a graduate assistant with his alma mater, Wierzba assisted with on-court player development, recruiting and helped plan team travel.  In 2005, the Farmington, Ill. native completed his master’s degree in science in health and human performance with a concentration in sports administration.