Women’s Tennis Assistant Lloyd Bruce-Burgess Hired as New Men’s Tennis Head Coach

New UCF Knights Director of Tennis Bryan Koniecko didn’t need to look far to find the next Men’s Tennis team’s head coach.

After two seasons as an assistant coach for the UCF women’s tennis team, Lloyd Bruce-Burgess will move over to the men’s side and take over as its head coach, the program announced Tuesday afternoon.

“I am eager and excited to begin working with the team and embark on a new journey in the history of UCF tennis,” Bruce-Burgess said in a press release.

Bruce-Burgess has helped Koniecko and the women’s team to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances since his arrival in Orlando in June 2021. He will succeed John Roddick, who resigned from his position on Friday.

“Lloyd has been a valuable member of our staff for the last two years, and his passion for excellence is unparalleled,” Koniecko said in a press release. “He has an impressive tennis background, with experience in coaching, playing, and recruiting. Lloyd is someone who genuinely cares for his players and will work tirelessly to build a championship team at UCF for years to come.”

“I look forward to seeing him lead our program to new heights.”

This will be Bruce-Burgess’ first collegiate head coaching job, but will also serve as his return to coaching men’s tennis, as he served as an Assistant Coach for the Iowa Men’s Tennis team from 2020-2021 and a volunteer assistant coach for the USF Men’s Tennis team in the fall of 2019. He was also a volunteer coach at Wichita State from 2013-2014 and an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Fresno Pacific during its first season as an NCAA Division ll program (2012-2013). From 2013-2019, Bruce-Burgess was the Director of Tennis at the Genesis Health Clubs’ Wichita, Kansas location.

“Lloyd has a great reputation nationally as a rising star,” said athletic director Terry Mohajir said in a press release. “We’re thrilled for him to lead our men’s tennis team, while continuing to work with Coach Koniecko in building conference and national championship caliber programs.”

Elsewhere on the UCF campus Tuesday, Track and Field Head Coach Dana Boone tabbed Stetson’s Bryan Harmon as the Knights’ new Distance and Cross Country Assistant Coach.

Harmon has served as the cross-country head coach for both the Hatters’ men’s and women’s teams since 2016.

“He brings a different perspective to our program coming in as a former head coach,” Boone said. “He understands the change in the conference alignment and the direction we are moving in as a program and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

While not technically a head coach, Harmon will lead the Knights’ Cross Country program into its first season in the Big 12 this fall.

“Entering the Big 12, the challenges are going to be great and I’m looking forward to tackling them,” Harmon said in a press release. “There is great talent on this team and I’m looking forward to getting started.”