The UCF men’s basketball team added Tyson Waterman to its staff in July 2023 as an assistant coach and the team’s recruiting coordinator. Waterman spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at Wichita State.
The Knights found success in Waterman's first year, which also happened to be the first for the Black and Gold in the Big 12 Conference. UCF tallied seven victories during the conference slate, with all wins coming against legacy league foes. The Black and Gold earned three ranked wins along the way, the most in a single season in program history, topping No. 3 Kansas, No. 23 Oklahoma and No. 23 Texas Tech and holding each to under 65 points. UCF’s defense was a bright spot once again, with blocks and steals per game ranking top 22 in the nation as well as top 45 in turnovers per game. The Knights earned the No. 12 seed at their inaugural Big 12 Conference Championship, drawing No. 13 Oklahoma State. After erasing a 12-point lead in to win in Stillwater during the regular season, UCF posted a dominant second half at the league tournament, winning 77-62. The Knights earned their second straight nod to the postseason and fourth in the last eight seasons by taking part in the NIT, earning a No. 4 seed.
Waterman was promoted to the Shockers’ recruiting coordinator in 2021, following his efforts as an assistant coach the previous seasons. In his time at Wichita State, he helped recruit the 2019 American Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year in Tyson Etienne along with three others who earned American postseason honors. As an assistant coach, Waterman helped the Shockers win The American’s 2020-21 regular season with a 16-6 record in league play, a run that ended with an NCAA Tournament bid. The year prior, Wichita State made a run to the NIT semifinals.
Waterman primarily works with point guards and wings in skill training and player development.
Before making the leap to Wichita State and Division I basketball, Waterman built a prep school powerhouse from the ground up. He founded and served as head coach at Believe Academy in Rock Hill, South Carolina, over two separate stints from 2010-18.
During the 2014-15 campaign, Waterman coached at Southeastern Louisiana University for a season as an assistant on head coach Jay Ladner’s staff.
Waterman was a standout student-athlete during his playing days at Winthrop, where he played from 1995-2000. He became the program’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,461 points and was third in assists with 459. He was a two-time All-Big South Conference first-team honoree in the final two seasons of his career, after garnering Big South Conference Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman. He was a second-team Big South Conference honoree in his sophomore year.
A year after finishing his collegiate playing career and earning degrees in criminal justice and sociology, Waterman saw his No. 41 jersey ascend into the rafters as he became the first Eagle to have his number retired in the program’s Division I history. He was inducted into the Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame in January 2007.
A native of Hemingway, South Carolina, Waterman attended Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware - a rigorous college preparatory program with a strong basketball reputation. His experience there ultimatley inspired him to found Believe Academy.