WVU Basketball Confirms the Hiring of Phil Forte to Coaching Staff

A week after Phil Forte confirmed his position on the WVU basketball staff, the program officially announces his hiring as an assistant coach.

Forte, a standout guard at Oklahoma State from 2012-17, was on Hodge’s staff at North Texas and now follows him to Morgantown.

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓

Welcome to Almost Heaven, Coach Phil Forte!

🔗 https://t.co/veodnYwNKS pic.twitter.com/5BcwvCJ5Q5

— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) April 19, 2025

Forte got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Saint Louis in 2017. After two seasons, he moved to Sam Houston as an assistant coach in 2019. He went back to Saint Louis as an assistant in 2021 before joining Hodge at UNT in 2023.

Forte averaged 12.9 points in 135 games across five seasons at Oklahoma State. He developed into an elite three-point shooter and won Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year in 2014.

Find more coverage of the WVU basketball program at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, Jase Herl is another assistant coach coming with Hodge to West Virginia.