MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men’s basketball head coach Ross Hodge has revealed the appointment of Phil Forte as an assistant coach.
Forte, originally from Flower Mound, Texas, has served as an assistant coach at North Texas for the past two seasons. Forte possesses eight seasons of coaching experience at the Division I level.
“Hodge stated that Phil is among the finest young coaches in the nation.” “The dedication and integrity that made him an excellent player in the Big 12 have transitioned into his coaching profession.” He possesses an excellent grasp of how to assist our players in improving both on and off the court. “We’re glad to welcome Phil and Madison to Morgantown.”
During the previous season at North Texas, the Mean Green achieved 27 victories and reached the NIT semifinals. The Mean Green placed third nationally in scoring defense, allowing 60.1 points per game, just 1.5 points shy of top-ranked Houston. UNT boasted the AAC’s second-best offense in terms of efficiency and the second-best defense as well. UNT’s 27 victories were the second-highest individual season wins in the school’s history, while the 14 conference wins were tied for the third-most in the school’s record.
UNT achieved 19 victories in his inaugural season of 2023-24 and advanced to the second round of the NIT. The 10 league victories and .555 league winning percentage represented the highest achievement by a first-year men’s basketball staff at UNT. Forte brought in several of North Texas’ best athletes and assisted in mentoring guard Jason Edwards to achieve first-team all-conference accolades. During Forte’s two years in Denton, UNT secured 46 victories.
“I’m thrilled to begin my job here in Morgantown,” Forte stated. “I feel immensely blessed to keep working with a coach and individual like Ross Hodge.” West Virginia basketball is in excellent hands with his leadership of the program.
Before joining North Texas, Forte played for two seasons at Saint Louis with Travis Ford. He played a key role in guiding the Billikens to consecutive 20-win seasons and an overall 44-24 record. SLU made it to the semifinals of the 2022 A-10 Tournament and received an NIT invitation that year too. Saint Louis achieved 23 victories that season, matching its highest total of single-season wins since 2013-14.
Before spending two seasons at Saint Louis, Forte served as an assistant coach at Sam Houston alongside Jason Hooten. Sam Houston’s record was 37-22 during Forte’s two years there.
Throughout his coaching career, Forte has assisted 10 various players in achieving 13 all-conference awards, which includes five recognitions this previous season at North Texas, 2021 Southland Conference Player of the Year Zach Nutall at Sam Houston, and consecutive A-10 First Team All-Conference selection Yuri Collins at Saint Louis.
Forte was part of the Oklahoma State team from 2012 to 2017 and is regarded as one of the most accomplished guards in the history of the Cowboys program. He guided OSU to four NCAA tournament entries. He set an OSU record with 329 3-point field goals and tallied 1,792 career points, ranking sixth in the school’s history at the time he graduated.
Forte completed his education at Marcus High School in 2012 and became a two-time state champion. He was named the MVP of the 2012 Texas Class 5A State Tournament after scoring a game-high 24 points in the title match and additionally received first team all-state accolades.
