Khalyl Waters, former Troy men's basketball forward, inked a professional contract in the Korisliiga league as a member of the Tapiolan Honka.
"I was extremely excited to see that Khalyl signed with Tapiolan Honka in Finland," head coach Scott Cross said. "Khalyl was a part of our first recruiting class here, and he has helped us build Troy into a winner. Khalyl was one of the best wings in the Sun Belt, but more importantly, he was a great teammate. I look forward to watching Khalyl do great things this season, and I will be sure to have the popcorn ready when he takes on his Trojan teammate, Nick Stampley."
The 6-5 forward finished last season on a hot streak, scoring a combined 37 points on 10-of-23 from the field – scored in double figures nine times in 2021-22. In his three years at Troy, Waters played in 77 total games with 33 starts for a combined 1,312 minutes.
Waters peaked statistically in his junior season, where he started 20-of-26 games played and averaged 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and one steal per game. The Douglasville native scored his career high of 21 points that season against Samford, where he shot 4-of-5 from the field and a historic 13-of-14 from the charity stripe – joined an elite group of 15 players in Troy history with 13 or more free throws in a single game.
"I am happy to be a part of Tapiolan Honka club," Waters said. "I'm blessed to be a part of this club, and I want to thank coach Aapo Heinonen for trusting me and giving me my first job opportunity in professional basketball."
Honka resides in the Southern portion of Finland, where it has been a member of the premier basketball league, Korisliiga, for a handful of years before departing for the Finnish First Division A league in 2021-22. This past season the team finished runner-up in the regular season before claiming the postseason title and rejoining the Korisliiga league.
Waters joins Stampley as the class of 2022 senior duo signed professional contracts this summer to play in the Korisliiga league. The 24-year-old also becomes the 22nd player to play professional basketball under Cross.
