Cade Tyson, a second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection this past season, has announced he is transferring to play basketball at North Carolina.
The 6-foot-7, 205-pound native of Monroe, NC, spent two seasons at Belmont, where he was MVC Freshman of the Year before being named to the league’s second-team this season. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
"To start, I'd like to thank all of my coaches and teammates throughout the two years I spent at Belmont University," Tyson wrote in a post on Twitter/X. "I would also like to thank the people who helped me throughout this recruiting process. Most importantly, I would like to thank Jesus Christ my Lord And Savior, for blessing me with this awesome opportunity.
"That being said, through much prayer and consideration, I have decided to commit to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with two years of eligibility remaining!"
Tyson, whose older brother Hunter Tyson starred at Clemson and was a rookie this season with the Denver Nuggets, was Mr. Basketball in 2022 when he led Carmel Christian to the 4A state championship game.
A wing player who can rebound, Tyson averaged 13.6 as a freshman, and 16.2 points as a sophomore. He already has 912 points, and shot 46.5 percent from three-point range in 2023-24.
“He’s a much better player in every phase of the game today than he was when we were here in March last year,” Belmont Coach Casey Alexander recently told Valley Hoops Insider.
Tyson may have the reputation of a sharp shooter, but there is much more to his game. He is a career 52.7 percent shooter from inside the arc. He also makes 85.7 percent of his free throws, and averaged 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists this past season.
The Bruins went 20-13 overall this past season, finishing fourth in the MVC with a 12-8 mark. Tyson surpassed the 20-point plateau 10 times, and scored in double figures in 25 of the 33 games. His seasonal high was 31 against Southern Conference Champion Samford, in which he hit six three-pointers.
Tyson scored 29 points on two other occasions. Indiana State and Drake were two of the better teams in the MVC. He averaged 13.5 points versus the Sycamores and 8.5 against the Bulldogs. He was named to the Missouri Valley All-Conference team both seasons.
Tyson is known as a grinder, a gym rat, and athletic. Alexander says basketball is exceptionally important to Tyson.
“He works really, really hard, is very serious about his game,” he again told Valley Hoops Insider.
Belmont is located in Nashville, and Tyson’s first visit was Tennessee. He visited UNC next, and the time in Chapel Hill clearly sealed the deal.